Commitment
by Lavender Gaia
Summary: The Brotherhood returns to Bayville High in time for Lance to be paired with Kitty for the ultimate Health assignment: Marriage. What will this do to their relationship? And what about their teams' rivalry? Lancitty, minor JOTT. COMPLETE
1. Health Class

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution. I would be content, however, with owning Scott's car.

* * *

Kitty absently-mindedly tapped her pencil on her desk. Health wasn't usually so boring, but Ms. Smith had asked them to study for another class while she got some papers ready for their new project. It wasn't as if no one had anything to do; with midterms just a few weeks away, teachers were piling on the work while trying to stuff their brains with faint memories of what they had learned the first day of the school year. It also didn't help that this was her last class before lunch. 

Finally, Ms. Smith approached the front of the class. "As you all hopefully know, it's just a little over two weeks till midterms. Earlier in the year, we went over dating, and we got to take the babies home." She was talking about mechanical babies that cried until you put a key in their back to shut them off. Kitty remembered that, and recalled that Rogue had more or less kidnapped it, enjoying taking care of another "life" without having to worry about gloves.

"Well," the teacher continued, "I had wanted to go in order and have you married before handing out the babies, but certain circumstances caused us to have to postpone the marriages. So, instead, we're going to have it as our midterm grade. There won't be any test, but you have to make sure you do well on this project, because it will affect your grade." She posted a sheet of paper on the cork board. "You can all come up here and check who your couples are, one at a time." She pointed to the first row and they sprung from their seats.

Kitty mentally groaned. Most of the time, it was good to be in the last row, but she was dying to see who her new "husband" was. Impatiently, she waited, unconsciously going back to tapping her pencil on her desk. As the third row was returning to meet with their partners, Kitty felt a little anxious. 'It's totally ok!' she thought, 'I mean, like, there are still 2 boys in my row who don't have partners. One of them must be mine, and neither of them are totally bad looking or anything.'

At last, Ms. Smith released the last row. Kitty would have phased through the rest if she could have, but, since that would probably be bad because of the no-powers rule, she simply pushed them out of the way. Kitty quickly scanned the list for her name. She didn't find it, and looked it over again. 'Oh my god!' she screamed internally. She wasn't on the list.

Kitty pushed back into the classroom, seeking out Ms. Smith. "Hey, Ms. Smith!" She called, running over to the instructor. "I'm like totally not on the list! What's up?"

The blonde educator sighed. "I'm sorry, Kitty. There are more boys in this class than girls. I'm not sure what I'm going to have to do for you yet. I just didn't find anything compatible for you, so you were last on my list. Let's see what we can do…"

The door in the back of the room opened and someone cleared their throat. Both Kitty and the teacher turned around. "Do we have a new student?" Ms. Smith asked.

"Lance?!" Kitty asked in surprise, a grin spreading over her face.

His eyes flew to her and he smiled. "Uh, yeah, I'm transferring in, as of today."

The blonde smiled. "This is perfect. I think we found you a partner, Kitty. Mr.…?"

"Alvers. Lance Alvers."

"Well, Lance, why don't you bring up a desk next to Kitty's and she'll explain the project to you."

Kitty moved to her seat and Lance moved up a spare desk. "Like, oh my god, Lance! I can't believe you're here!"

He ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, well…Anyway, what's this project all about?"

Kitty blushed. "It's a marriage project. We pretend to be married and like…stuff like that…"

"Oh…" his face matched hers with a blush, but he did a better job of hiding it, since he actually tried to hide it.

Ms. Smith approached the front of the classroom as the project packets were passed back. Kitty flipped through her own papers as the teacher began to talk. "Today's Wednesday, so we're going to start today. You'll be periodically turning in worksheets and doing presentations in front of the class. The last Thursday and Friday before the end of the semester, we'll pretend we're at a 20-year reunion and you all can present about your family. That will be about 25 of your grade. The rest is based on packets, and skits you'll do in front of the class. Now, the skits will be completely random. Mostly everyone will get a different one, and you won't know what it's about until right before."

She picked up some manila folders on the desk, as well as an upside down cowboy's hat. "You can pick your jobs out of here. Then you both write it in your file, which will keep track of your marriage. You get files at random. They contain where you live, how many children you have, your monthly budget, that sort of thing. Your job slip has your salary on it, so you both fill that out and can manage your budget from there. I'll pass these around while you two get to know your partners. Now, your not going to be able to do this all in class, so make sure you find time to get together after school or during lunch."

Kitty looked at Lance, who was grinning at her. "So, Miss Pryde, I guess we're together in this, huh?"

She grinned back. "Like, I thought I was Mrs. Alvers." His heart skipped a beat and she realized to herself how right that sounded. It definitely had a nice ring to it.

"I wasn't sure if you'd want to keep your last name or not." Lance traced circles on his desk with an index finger.

"Well, I always told myself I'd only keep my name if I didn't like my husband's last name. But Alvers is like totally perfect." She pushed a lock of her bangs behind her ear, only having it pop back out a few seconds later.

Ms. Smith appeared at their desks, holding out the almost empty fishbowl. "Now, Lance, since this is the only work we're going to be doing, this project is going to affect your grade in this class. I'm not going to make you do all the work from the rest of the semester, but next semester I'm going to need to see you after school maybe once or twice a week to go over all the other chapters with you. You two have to do really well on this assignment, it's going to be Lance's grade in the class."

Lance nodded and reached into the fishbowl. "I get it."

"I'll totally help him all I can, Ms. Smith." Kitty assured, reaching into the fishbowl after Lance had taken his hand out.

"I'm sure you will, Kitty." Ms. Smith put their folder on the desk between them, then placed a hand on Lance's shoulder. "You got lucky, Mr. Alvers. Kitty will take care of you. She's a great girl."

"I know," Lance said as the teacher walked away.

Kitty blushed before nudging his arm. "So, what'd you get?"

Lance opened his paper and chuckled dryly. "Construction and demolition."

Kitty leaned her head back and laughed. "Like at least we know you're good at it. The demolition part at least."

He laughed with her. "Well, what did you get?"

She unfolded her scrap of paper and her eyes lit up. "I run a bakery!" Kitty flipped open the packed and wrote in her job and monthly salary, which was an estimation, as someone who owns a store can never know how much they're going to earn each month.

Lance took the job chart as Kitty flipped through the rest of the contents. "Like, we're a newly married couple, no kids, but we're totally thinking about it." After a moment, she continued. "If you don't mind, I'll manage the money. I'm pretty good at math."

"Sure. It's not my best subject, so if I'd done it we probably would have gone broke." He ran a hand through his hair. "Hey, uh, she said that we have to get together after school and such."

"Oh, yeah. Well, I usually have lunch with Scott and Jean and everyone." She could tell he was trying not to make a face. "How about we meet in the library after school?"

He sighed in relief. "Sure. I can give you a ride home afterwards."

"Ok, great." Together they sat in silence, though not an uncomfortable one. "You know, Lance, I'm really glad you're my partner on this."

He was about to respond when the bell rang loudly. The whole class was so loud, that even if they had tried to speak, they wouldn't have been able to hear each other. "See you after school in the library!" She mouthed, then rushed off before realizing she only had lunch now.

Lance watched her retreating back till she was out of site, then wondered why his heart was still beating so fast.

* * *

"Kitty? Kitty?" 

The girl looked up to see Kurt looking at her very closely. "Ah!" She pushed him back. "Kurt, it's called like, personal space!"

"Says the girl who walks through people," her usually blue friend retorted with his heavy German accent.

"Is something wrong?" Scott asked, concerned eyes behind those glasses.

"No, I was just thinking of a project we were assigned in health today." She toyed with the straw sticking out of her milk.

"Oh, yeah? What was it?" Jean asked, pushing her vibrant red locks behind her shoulders.

"I'm sure you guys had it. The marriage thing."

"Did ya get someone really horrible?" Rogue asked, slipping into the empty seat next to Kitty.

"Actually…no…" A blush spread upon her face again.

"C'mon, spill!" Jean urged. "You can't just leave us in suspense."

"I…I don't want to tell you," Kitty realized suddenly.

"Huh?" Scott's look of concern changed to one of confusion. "Why not?"

Across the cafeteria, they heard a familiar cackle. "Well, well, we're back and nothing's changed, huh, Fred?"

"Nope, everything's the same," Fred responded to Toad, eating a Twinkie.

Jean looked at the returning group. "It's Tabitha and the rest of the Brotherhood," she remarked as the blonde kicked a soda machine that had eaten her change.

Cyclops crossed his arms over his chest, "What are they doing back here?"

Toad spotted them and hopped over, followed by Blob, Boom-Boom and Avalanche. Kitty couldn't keep the smile off his face. He was so cute, especially when he was trying to be good. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the X-geeks. You didn't miss us?" Toad asked, eating a fly in their general direction.

Scott was trying to be civil. "Tolansky, Dukes, Smith, Alvers…"

"Hey, there, Shades, everyone," Tabitha greeted, taking a swig of the soda she'd finally rescued from the kidnapping vending machine.

Besides a nod or a wave from everyone else, it was silent. "I can see we're not wanted here. We've got other stuff to do anyway." Toad hopped away, followed closely by Fred. Tabitha strayed to talk to everyone and Lance kind of hung to the side.

"I'll see you later, Kitty?" Lance managed to say after a second.

"Right after school in the library. Like, don't worry, I won't forget."

"Ok, see you then." Avalanche smiled at her, before his eyes bet Scott's shades. They stared at each other for a second (how it really worked through the glasses no one will ever know) and Lance left.

"He's your partner?" Kurt wondered aloud.

"Uh huh. Oh, and Scott, I won't need a ride home today. Lance is going to drop me off." Kitty went back to eating her lunch quickly, feeling everyone's eyes on her.

"Kitty…" Scott began hesitantly. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, he's-"

"He's a good guy, Scott!" Kitty told him harshly. "And he's my friend. Besides, even if he wasn't, he's still my partner. And I'm gonna meet him after school." She sighed and put her milk carton back on her tray. "I'll like, see you guys later."

She walked away from the table, leaving everyone staring at her in silence. Scott put his head in his hands, as Jean rubbed his back comfortingly. It was her job as his girlfriend, even though she thought he was wrong.

Tabitha laughed. "Smooth, Summers. Very smooth."

* * *

Kitty was getting worried. It had been fifteen minutes since the bell had rang, and her back was starting to fall asleep from leaning against the lockers. In fact, she had almost phased through the metal after day-dreaming. 'He's totally standing me up!' She thought angrily, disappointment clouding her mind. "He's not going to show. I thought he was like totally excited about this too.' A hand was placed on her shoulder and she jumped in surprise, phasing through the body part and turning around to face her attacker. 

Lance's hands flew up in defense. "It's just me! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She sighed in relief. "You were late; I was just about to leave!"

"Some of my teachers needed to talk to me. I came as quick as I could."

"Oh. Well, let's get started then!" She pushed open the door to the library and found a small table in the back where they wouldn't be disturbed. The two worked for several hours until the librarian finally told them they were closing. "Oh my god, I can't believe how late it's gotten!" Kitty said as she packed up her books. "It's like it just flew by."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." He could see she was getting lazy, so he picked up her remaining binders so she wouldn't damage them or anything else shoving them into her bag. "My car's just around the corner," he told her as he opened the back door for her.

"Great. I'm starved and I don't wanna be late for dinner." She hopped in the passenger seat of the car as Lance started the engine of the jeep. The two chatted for a while longer, until Lance pulled up next to the gates of Xavier Institute.

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he said as he killed the engine.

"Fourth period health." She took her binders and slung her bag over her shoulder. "See ya, Lance." Then as an afterthought, Kitty leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye!"

His eyes followed her as she ran into the house. "Bye…" he finally whispered after his heart rate had left attack territory. For once, he couldn't wait for school.

* * *

A/N: This is my first X-men Evolution fic. I'm a huge fan of the series and definitely a huge fan of Kitty and Lance. There just isn't enough fanfics about them, I think. Oh, and if you see me giving Scott the best lines, it's because I can hear Kirby saying them in my head and I love Kirby. If you think it's OOC at all, please let me know, I'd like to make this as good as possible. 

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.


	2. A night of bad omens

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution. If I did, you can be assured there would have been a LOT more Lancitty fics and it wouldn't be over.

* * *

Kitty hummed happily as she walked into the Institute. So far, everything was going perfectly. Unfortunately, if she had learned anything here, it was that once you thought everyone was ok, it just went all downhill, and usually pretty quickly along with some physical and property damage involved. Well, ok, a LOT of property damage. 

Scott Summers, the leading big brother of the school, was sitting on the staircase. His brow relaxed in relief. Unfortunately, his obvious concern only made Kitty mad. "Were you like, waiting for me? God, Scott, what was Lance gonna do, kidnap me?"

The older teen sighed and went back to frowning. "You never know, Kitty! Something could have happened."

"How many times do I have to tell you? Lance is not a bad guy! He was really nice to me, and I'm probably going to be seeing a lot of him lately. So, like, get over it!" She pushed past him and ran up the stairs.

Rogue looked up from her book as Kitty stormed into the room they shared, slamming the door behind her. "Hello to you too," the Southerner drawled.

"I can't believe Scott!" She flopped on her bed, huffing loudly. "He treats me like a little kid! I can take care of myself, ya know?"

Her roommate shrugged. "He's big-brother Scott, he just wants to make sure you're ok. It's not like the brotherhood is known for being nice, pretty honor roll students."

"But that doesn't mean they're like the ultimate evil Scott thinks they are!" Kitty toyed with a string from her bedspread.

Rogue knew that there was no getting through to the girl. She was just as stubborn as Summers, if not more so at times. "Whatever," she finally conceded, going back to her novel.

Kitty was anxious. All this fighting with one of her best friends was making her so frustrated. She could almost go for one of Logan's training sessions. Almost.

Being in this room of utter silence besides the sounds of breathing and the occasional turning of a page was just making it worse. Kitty got up and left, groaning at the silence in the hallway as well. Why was it that whenever she wanted some time alone with peace and quiet, it never happened? Yet, when she could use some noise and chaos, everyone had suddenly turned into a mime?

She went downstairs, searching for Kurt. As annoying he could be at time, he always knew how to cheer her up and he was definitely loud. She found Jean talking on the phone, and got an idea. Scott couldn't yell at her for talking to him, unless he was going to go with the excuse that Lance had found a way to manipulate her over the phone.

Shadowcat rested against the wall, not wanting to but in on her friend's conversation. Until she heard Jean say, "I love you," into the phone. Kitty peaked around the corner. She couldn't be talking to Scott…he was home. And she had broken up with Duncan a while ago.

Jean smiled against the receiver. "I'll talk to you later. Bye, Mom."

Kitty phased through the wall in surprise. Of course Jean was talking to her family! She had left parents and a sister back in Connecticut. Besides, the redhead wasn't the ultimate Miss Popularity anymore.

Jean looked at her friend on the ground. "Oh, did you want to use the phone, Kitty? Sorry for taking it so long."

"Yeah, thanks," Kitty got up off the carpeted floor as Scott was walking down the hallway.

"Calling Alvers?" Cyclops asked.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "No, the Easter Bunny," she reached for the cordless handset from Jean Grey's outstretched palm. "Thanks, Jean."

"Kitty—" Scott started, but she phased through a wall away from them before he could finish his sentence.

She went to her bedroom, sighing in relief that Rogue had left. She sat on her bed and dialed the number for the Brotherhood.

"Hello?" A familiar male voice answered.

"Lance? It's me."

"Kitty?" His voice brightened up immediately. "Hold on a second." Even though he pulled the receiver away from his mouth, she still heard him yelling at Toad and Blob in the background to shut up. "Sorry, I'm back. What's up?"

"I just wanted to talk…It's really quiet around here for some reason. It was like, totally creepy and stuff." She relaxed back against her pillows, a smile spreading across her face for the first time in hours.

"Wish I had that problem," Lance grumbled. If she had seen him, she'd have seen him glaring in the general direction of his roommates.

"I had a nice time with you today," Kitty blushed.

"Me too!" There was surprise in his voice, but a happy surprise. "I actually got all my homework done for once too. You're a good study partner. We could, um…maybe do it again sometime?"

"That'd be great. I can't tomorrow though, I have to make up a science lab after school. And now I guess I have to find a ride home too. Scott and I aren't exactly the best of friends," She winced at her last comment. It was obvious that Scott and Lance weren't exactly buddies.

Lance snorted. "I'm not surprised. Look, I'm sure I'll have to stay after anyway, I kinda blew off some meetings to see you, so I can give you a ride when we're finished."

"You shouldn't have done that! It like, won't help to make a bad impression right off." Inside, Kitty was flattered. "I'll take you up on that ride offer though."

"Great. And, um, since you're busy tomorrow, how about Friday? We could discuss the project over maybe—" He mumbled off towards the end.

"What was that?" She strained her ears to hear.

"I said…maybe over something to eat…or something…" Lance cleared his throat.

Kitty sprung up from her relaxed position in bed. Was he asking her out? "S-Sure!"

"Really?" He sounded surprised that she had actually accepted. "Ok, then, cool…Uh…where do you wanna go?"

"Well, there's this—" A knock on her door cut her off. "Hold on a sec." She covered the mouthpiece with her hand. "What do you want, Scott?"

The door opened, revealing not Scott, but the fuzzy blue elf. "Uh, hi, there."

"Sorry, Kurt. I thought you were Scott."

"I kinda figured that." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just came to let you know dinner was ready."

"Thanks. I'll be down in a sec." As an afterthought, she added, "And like since when do you use the door?"

"Since Rogue told me you were in a bad mood," after a smile to his best friend, the German teleported out with a 'bamf.'"

Kitty looked back at the phone. "Lance?"

"I'm still here."

"Oh, good. I have to go though, dinner and all." Disappointment coated her voice.

"Oh. Well, you gotta eat, I guess." His disappointment sounded even greater than hers.

"See you tomorrow?" She reminded him.

"Right, see you tomorrow. Bye, Kitty."

"Bye, Lance." Reluctantly, she pressed the "Off" button on the phone. Kitty ran downstairs, placing the handset back in the cradle. With so many people in the house needing to use the phone, any chance it got to charge was welcomed, and anyone who forgot to put it back was usually scolded by a teacher, or whichever student wanted to use it but couldn't.

Everyone was running around the kitchen, filling their plates, asking Bobby to cool their drinks, and just finding a place to sit. Kitty managed to snag a spot between Kurt and Amara, which was luckily all the way across the table from a certain glasses wearing teenager.

The fuzzy blue wonder passed her a plate with spaghetti and meatballs on it, as well as a glass of chilled root beer courtesy of Ice Man. After everyone got settled, conversation flowed easily as people chatted about their day. Kitty's usually cheery voice was missing though, and it was noticeable. As she passed him the basket of garlic rolls, the professor asked, "Kitty, are you feeling ok?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, fine, Professor. I'm just tired." She twirled pasta around her fork. "Oh, hey, like, is it ok if I go out on Friday? I promise I'll be back by curfew, and as soon as I figure out where I'm going I'll let you know."

"Of course, Kitty." He smiled at her.

"You haven't figured out where you're going yet?" Ororo asked.

"Well, we just made the plans."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "We?"

Kitty suddenly focused on her plate, "Uh…well…I'm going with Lance. You see, we're partners on this Health project, and we have to get together to work on it, and he just figured that since we both have to eat, we might as well grab something to eat and study at the same time. Like, kill two birds with one stone, and stuff."

Professor Xavier nodded. "That's perfectly logical."

The entire table turned to Scott, waiting for his slick comment. Surprisingly enough, he didn't say anything, just stuffed half a meatball in his mouth, scowling between each chew.

Dinner ended shortly after, and it was Kurt, Jean and Kitty's turn to clean up the kitchen after Bobby and Sam cleared the table. "So, Lance asked you out?" Jean asked in the gossipy older sister way.

Kitty beamed, rising off a plate under the running water. "Uh huh."

"Well, there'll be no talking to Scott for the rest of the week," Jean mused, stacking cups in the dishwasher.

"Lance isn't a bad guy, Jean!" Kurt took the bowl out of Kitty's hand before she could break it.

"I didn't say he was! Calm down," the redhead arranged the silverware in the dishwasher. "I was just saying that Scott's probably going to be in a bad mood. I promise it was nothing against Lance."

Kitty sighed. "Ok. Thanks."

Kurt tapped her shoulder. "Why don't I finish washing the dishes and you can put all the leftovers in the fridge. You're a lot better at organizing it than I am."

She smiled at him. "Sure, Kurt." She opened the large refrigerator, putting all the new Tupperware in front, since she knew someone would probably finish it tonight for a midnight snack. A new bottle caught her eye. "Frappuccino? Who drinks this?"

Jean looked up from setting the dishwasher to wash. "Oh, it's mine. You want half? I'll split it with you."

"Thanks! I've never tried it before," Kitty took it out, slipping the last Tupperware in it's now empty place.

"They're really good. Don't forget to shake it first though, so everything doesn't end up settled at the bottom," Jean instructed as she grabbed a disposable plastic cup from the shelf.

Kitty nodded, shaking the bottle. Suddenly, there was a loud crash of broken glass. Kurt grabbed Jean and teleported to the other side of the kitchen. "What was that?" The blue boy asked in shock.

Kitty got control of herself, and looked at the bottle. "The…the bottom fell out."

"What?" Jean and Kurt both asked.

"The bottom just fell out!" Kitty looked at the floor, which was now coated in coffee, along with her socks and the bottom of her pants.

"I can't believe that…Stand still for a second, Kitty, I don't want you to get hurt," Jean levitated the broken piece of glass with her telekinesis and dropped it on the counter. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Wet, but fine."

"I'll go get the mop," Kurt said, teleporting out of the kitchen, then back in a few minutes later with a mop and bucket.

"Why don't you go get changed, Kitty? Kurt and I can handle this, and I'll go return that bottle tomorrow. Just put it on the counter so I can show them the proof." Jean put a comforting hand on the younger girl's shoulder. She could tell Kitty was shaken up. She didn't even phase through the spill when the glass fell out of the bottom; if it hadn't broken up into two large pieces, Kitty's legs would not be a pretty sight.

"I think I'll do that. Thanks, Jean." Kitty went upstairs, and after gathering some clean pajamas from her room, took over the bathroom. She ran the hot water, trying to calm herself down. Somehow, she didn't see this as a very good omen at all.

* * *

A/N: Ok, so not much Lancitty action in this one besides their conversation, but I needed to get everyone in here, and who can resist our fuzzy blue elf? By the way, the whole Frappuccino bottle thing actually happened to me today, so I took that as some inspiration. You know something is wrong when Starbuck's bottles start attacking you…

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review responses:

DOJ: I'm so glad you like it! This is my first XME fic, and I'm trying so hard to keep everything in character. I hope you keep reading!

Emi: Thank you, deary.

Kitrazzle Fayn: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it!

El Diablo: There are certainly not enough Lancitty fics out there. People need to shape up and start writing some! But until they do, I hope you'll keep reading mine.

Intense Gamer: Oh, I love Pietro, he will be in there eventually, as soon as I can think of dialogue good enough to provide for him. I'll just have to watch my DVDs over and over and over again till I can get him down. Or just ask Richard Cox to do him when I meet him this summer. I hope you enjoy it and keep reading!

Lance Avalanche Alvers: Glad you like it!

Anc7: You will be getting your wish soon, I promise. Though I don't think Professor X or any of the other teachers will approve of Lance and Kitty in the same house. And especially not Scott. I'm so happy you think it's funny!

Sakura Kuonji: Well of course people have to get in the way of the relationship. If that didn't happen, I wouldn't be writing it! And for some reason Microsoft Word has kunai in the dictionary, but not Kuonji. Freaky. We'll have to create more Lance/Scott chaos, because there's no point in writing an XME fic without it. Or maybe I just like chaos…


	3. The date and the baby

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution or Baby-think-it-over. Marvel and Warner Brothers own X-men Evolution. People whose goal it is in life to torture poor high school health students make baby-think-it-over, damn them.

* * *

Kitty's heart rose in her chest as she walked into her Health classroom Friday afternoon. Lance sat at the desk next to hers and was busy writing something. "Hey, like, whatcha doing?"

He hid the paper with his hand, "Nothing!"

"Show me!" She pleaded eagerly, sitting down at her desk.

"It's no big deal, really," He stuffed the paper back in his bag. "So, what's up?"

"Nothing. Hey, how'd you get here so fast?" Kitty asked, recalling that he was usually late. "The past few days you've been coming in late claiming you got lost."

"I have Gordon third period," He grumbled, staring at the wall.

Kitty frowned. "Gordon? But she's right…Oh my god! Did you seriously not know that your classroom was right around the corner? You've been going around the entire school?"

Lance was never happier to hear the bell ring, meaning that he didn't have to answer that question. The teacher told them to get some paper out, since they were going to be taking notes on a video about pregnancy and birth. Joy.

The movie was actually somehow grosser than it sounded. No one in the class felt like watching people give birth over and over with a front row view. Luckily for Kitty, she was still in the back of the classroom away from the television and the teacher's desk, so she passed a note over to Lance.

_Hey, do you know where you want to go tonight?_

He looked surprised as she pushed the folded paper on her desk. Shooting a look at the teacher and seeing that she was doing something on her computer, he unfolded it and read Kitty's writing. He scribbled something back, then flipped it on to her desk.

_There's a new pizza place that I heard actually lets mutants in. We could go there. You like pizza, right?_

She grinned and wrote back.

_I love pizza. I'll meet you in the parking lot after school. _

Ms. Smith decided she was actually going to periodically ask questions about the movie now, so they had to pay attention. Double joy.

Kitty wrote down comments sporadically, but she never heard a pen or pencil scratching against paper at Lance's side. She looked over at him. He wasn't writing and had a disturbed look in his eye. When she was about to lean over and ask if he was ok, Ms. Smith turned the lights on. The movie was over.

The class had a short discussion about the video until there was only five minutes of class left. She wrote two page numbers on the board, "This is you homework," Ms. Smith instructed the class, "along with spending time with your partners. I'm going to pass out a time log sheet. Log the minutes you spent together and have a witness sign it for extra credit. If I think you're lying, you will lose points. Now, if there's anyway you can record the times with a video camera or such, you'll get the extra points and then some."

She glanced at the clock. "We have a few minutes left, so you can get started on your homework if you want."

The class began chatting as most got out paper to do their work. Ms. Smith came up to Lance holding something in her arms: A baby. "Lance, I know you missed this part of class, but I was hoping you'd be willing to take it home for the weekend so you can get that grade as well," she said, more as a demand than any sort of question.

Avalanche stared at it with wide eyes. "What is it?"

"Baby-think-it-over. It is a simulation of a real infant. It has porous skin, it cries, and you have to continuously support its head like a real child." She placed it in Lance's arms so that he was supporting the baby's head. "This is the key," Ms. Smith informed as she held up a small, black, plastic thing. "When the baby cries, you put it here in the back," she indicated a keyhole in the back, "and hold it there until it stops crying. That could be anywhere from five minutes to thirty-five minutes depending on what the infants need is at the moment. This will be strapped to your wrist so you don't have to worry about losing it."

"It cries? Loudly?" Lance was wincing.

"Yes, it does. It will count the minutes you didn't address the baby's needs, as well as if you mishandle it, drop it, or don't support its head. It will also say whether or not you've tried to tamper with it." Ms. Smith pointed to one side of the classroom where there was a scale and measuring tape. "Go weigh and measure her, then you can come tell me her name for her birth certificate. Kitty, give him a hand, please."

Kitty helped Lance measure the girl, and then weigh her gently. "What's wrong, Lance? You don't like the baby? I think she's cute! I had a boy on my turn."

"It's not that…But how are we supposed to go out tonight with the baby?" Lance held it awkwardly until Kitty rearranged his arms.

"We could do what I did. I like just left it with Rogue, she loves these things." Kitty took the child from him and brought it to Ms. Smith at her desk.

"Ready?" The teacher asked pen poised over the birth certificate.

"Uh huh. She's nineteen inches long, six pounds, seven ounces. Caucasian, with brown hair and blue eyes." Kitty smiled at the baby as Ms. Smith attached the key to Lance's wrist with a hospital bracelet.

"Name?" Ms. Smith and Kitty both looked at Lance.

"Uhhh…I dunno. You name it, Kitty," He shrugged.

"But it's your baby!" She protested.

"We're supposed to be married, which makes it our baby." He smiled at his ingenious.

"Wow, like, thanks, Lance," Kitty grinned. "Let's see…how about…Callie? I had a cat name Callie. And Callie Alvers sounds totally cute!"

"Callie it is then," Lance smiled at her. Ms. Smith wrote it down as the bell rang. She gave Lance the packed baby bag and the car seat/carrier he had to carry the baby around in.

He and Kitty left class together and started walking towards his locker so he didn't have to carry around the car seat all day. "Hey, you said you had a boy. What did you name him?"

Kitty paused. "I don't remember. Oh, there's Kurt. I'll see you after school, Lance!" She jogged ahead, but Rogue caught up with her.

"Don't remember what you named your baby, huh?" Her roommate asked with a smirk. "I believe you named it Lance…"

"You totally promised you'd never tell anyone!" Kitty glared at her.

Rogue smiled. "Oops. Musta just slipped my mind…"

Kitty gave Rogue a little push in the side, stuck her tongue out at her and ran ahead.

Rogue rubbed her side and went to catch up. "Oh, very mature!"

Lunch went less than smoothly on the conversation front. Scott and Kitty still weren't speaking to each other, so the others tried uneasily to make up for the silence. After a while, Jean claimed that she and Scott had to see one of their teachers and left, easing the atmosphere at the table.

Kitty was never one to stare at the clock; it was well known that a watched pot never boils, or, in this case, a watched clock never ticks. Yet, in her last class of the day, her eyes constantly strayed to the timepiece of the wall. She was excited about her date with Lance. Unless he didn't think it was a date, then she didn't either.

When the bell rang, Kitty was already packed and was the first one out the door, almost missing the homework assignment her teacher shouted. She had trouble with her lock. Was it anticipation that made her hand so shaky? If there wasn't the ban on powers, she would have given up and phased through it, as it took her five minutes just to get it open, not to mention gathering what she needed for the weekend.

Lance was waiting by his jeep when she exited the school. He was holding the baby with one arm and the carrier with the other. "Hey, there," she grinned.

He looked up at her. "Oh, hi," He glanced back down at Callie, "About the kid…"

"Right, right," Her blue eyes scanned the parking lot for a red convertible. Luckily, Scott was only parked a few spots away and Kurt and Rogue were climbing in the back seat. "Rogue! Come here for a second!" Her friend hesitated. "Please?"

Kurt nudged her and nodded towards Kitty, causing the southerner to sigh, but climb out of her seat. "Yeah?"

Shadowcat took the baby from Lance's arms and put it in Rogue's. "Could you watch her for us? Like, it would be so much easier. No use alienating ourselves from the only pizza place in town that likes mutants with her wailing."

Rogue's face softened. "Sure…she's beautiful…what's her name?"

"Callie," Kitty smiled.

"Callie…" Rogue stroked the infant's face affectionately.

"Yeah. We'll pick her up when Lance drops me off at home," She looked over where Kurt, Scott and Jean were waiting to go. "Kurt, c'mere for a minute!"

He walked over, looking curiously at the bundle of joy in his sister's arms. "What's going on?"

"Rogue's babysitting while Lance and I go out," She piled the baby bag and car seat in Nightcrawler's arms. "Thanks."

"When did I become a pack mule?" Kurt mumbled, but went to put the stuff in Scott's car anyway.

"Hey, if Scott gives you any trouble, just hit him," Kitty whispered to Rogue. "Like, without your gloves."

Rogue wasn't listening. "Uh huh, sure…"

"Yo, what about the key?" Lance asked, indicating the bracelet on his arm.

"Uh….here," Kitty pulled his arm down and out of sight, quickly phasing it off his wrist and on to Rogue's. "Like, you totally didn't see me do that."

"See you do what?" Rogue raised an eyebrow, then looked over at the convertible. "Scott looks like he's gonna burst a blood vessel, I should go."

"Ok, thanks again Rogue! We'll see you when we get back," Kitty told her while climbing into the green jeep.

"Take your time!" Her roommate walked back to Scott's car, where the older teen actually looked like he was going to have a heart attack or a stroke or something equally dangerous and bad to your health where your face turns so red it's practically purple.

Lance's driving to the restaurant reminded Kitty of his namesake: an avalanche. "Like, slow down!" She cried as she saw him pushing sixty on a regular street. He was all over the place, switching lanes erratically. "Lance, pull over!" She finally demanded.

The jeep slid over to the side of the road. "What? We're almost there."

"We need to talk. What is up with you? You're driving like a total maniac!"

"I am not. Can we just go?" He reached down to put the car back in drive until Kitty reached across him and took the keys from the engine.

"No. I'm not driving another second with you until you quit acting like you're trying to kill yourself!" She phased them under her car seat where he couldn't reach them.

"Feh. Like you care," He stared away from her as his words hit her like a brutal slap across the face.

"Wha…what? Of course I care!" She was finding it hard to breathe as his silence stabbed her heart over and over. "Lance…what's wrong?"

"No one cares! When we were watching that movie today, everyone thought the baby was so cute even though we had just watched it be born! And when that one was sick from a low birth rate everyone cared even though they'd never met the kid!" He was holding on to the door for stability. "Everyone wanted the baby. All parents seem to love their babies and want them. But not me. No ones ever wanted me! I'm just a hood, right? Who would ever want me?"

For perhaps the first time in her life, Kitty was utterly speechless. She did the only thing she felt was right. Throwing her arms around his neck, she squeezed back tears that threatened to leak from her eyes. "Me! Lance, I want you! I'll always want you!"

He was frozen in her grip. His brain had ceased to function. Luckily, Lance's body responded faster than his brain did. So as she pulled back then leaned forward again to press her lips to his, he responded desperately. Their lips blended together for a moment. They denied themselves of air for almost a minute, holding and clinging to each other as passion rushed through their bodies and poured into their lover.

Once air was the only option before unconsciousness, they reluctantly pried their lips apart. Each lung inhaled the oxygen at a frantic pace as their minds worked their way around the situation that had just occurred. When he had finally recovered, Lance reached a calloused hand out to cup Kitty's chip, stroking her soft chin.

His head leaned down to intercept her lips once more. This kiss was slower, caring, but no less intense. Lance's hand moved from his cheek to get tangled in her silky brown hair as she gripped his sleeveless brown jacket. Her eyes remained closed even as he broke away, tracing his thumb on her bottom lip that throbbed from being pressed against his.

"So…hungry?" He nuzzled her neck lightly.

Her sparkling blue eyes opened and she giggled. "Sure."

With one last quick kiss, he turned forward and tried to start the car again. "Uh…Kitty?"

"Hmmm?" She asked, still drunk with the memory of how he felt and smelt and tasted.

"The keys?"

"Huh? Oh, right!" She reached through the seat and tossed him his keys.

Lance started the jeep and the pulled back on the road. "Thanks."

* * *

The date was nice. Luckily, the pizza was the best in town and none of the owners or the servers gave them a second glace except to ask if they wanted more to drink. Reluctantly, after grabbing some ice cream, Lance had to drop Kitty back to the Institute to make the curfew for this weekend. Of course, not without a few distracting detours.

They pulled up in front of the mansion and he killed the engine for the jeep. "So…uh…" He ran a hand through his hair.

"Why don't you come inside so you can get the baby?" Kitty suggested.

Lance hesitated. "I dunno."

She kissed him again reassuringly. "Like what are they gonna do? Attack you?"

Her smile and kiss made him give in and he got out of the car with her. She reached for his hand and squeezed it as he walked her up to the door. The door was unlocked, so Kitty just opened the door and went inside. "I'm home!"

Kurt, Bobby and Sam came out of the next room, looking relieve. "Oh, good, Kitty, you're home," Kurt sighed in relief before noticing her company. "Lance…"

Kitty looked from Lance to Kurt, noticing the worried look on the blue boy's face. "Kurt? What's wrong?" He didn't answer. "Sam? Bobby?" They looked away. "Like, what's going on?"

She heard voices from a separate hallway: Jean and Scott's. When they entered the room, it was as if an ominous presence had settled into the foyer. Before anyone realized it, Scott had run across the room and punched Lance's face with all his might.

Kitty screamed as Jean ran over, trying to hold her boyfriend back. "Scott, stop it! You don't know anything! You can't just accuse him!"

"What the hell was that, Summers!" Lance wiped away a small trickle of blood that ran from a cut on his lip.

"How can you show your face here after what you and your friends did?" Scott raged, fighting against Jean's hold. He apparently forgot the fact that his girlfriend had the power of telekinesis.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he was bracing himself for an attack: either giving or receiving one. Kitty reached for his hand, holding it for more her sake than his.

"What Scott's trying to say is," Jean started, still holding on to the furious Cyclops, "The Brotherhood attacked City Hall."

"What does that have to do with me!" Lance tried to calm himself down, but that was never an easy thing around the X-geeks. Especially Scott.

"You live with them, don't you? You have to know something about this!" Scott had given up on working against Jean; it would not only hurt his relationship, but probably his physical being as well.

"Hey, you live with Wolverine but you don't know everything he does!" Lance snarled.

"How do we know you weren't part of this?" Cyclops asked.

"He was with me all night!" Kitty said angrily. "I can't believe you'd accuse him of this! He only brought me back because of curfew!"

"Oh, so if it weren't for the curfew, you were planning on taking her to your attack too? Or maybe you were just going to meet up with your other teammates after you dropped her off!" Scott was angry again.

"Scott!" Kitty cried in disbelief. She had seen him angry, but couldn't remember seeing him like this.

"I think I should leave," Lance said face a mask of rage.

"That's probably for the best," Jean sighed, trying to remain calm. "And you and I need to talk," she said to Scott. Her green eyes flashed angrily as she lifted him with her TK so he couldn't run away.

They hadn't notice Rogue had come down the stairs until she cleared her throat. "Here," she whispered, handing him Callie inside the carrier along with the baby bag.

"Thanks," he murmured gruffly. "I'll see you around, Kitty." He turned and stormed out of the house.

"Oh, he forgot the key," Rogue suddenly realized.

"I'll take it," Kitty offered immediately, taking the bracelet off her wrist and racing outside, phasing through the front door. "Lance! Lance!"

He was strapping Callie into the car. "Yeah?"

"You, uh, forgot the key…" she whispered, slipping it on his wrist.

Lance grabbed her arm protectively, kissing her deeply as she wrapped her other arm around his neck. "Kitty…I…" He reached into his pocket, producing a folded sheet of paper and handed it to her. "Just take this."

She did so before returning to kiss him again. For a few more minutes, their lips were pressed against each other frantically. More than anything, Kitty didn't want him to leave. She was deathly afraid he would never come back.

"I have to go," he told her finally.

She stepped back nodding. Her hand gripped the bars of the gate as Lance got into his jeep and drove away. Kitty took a few deep breaths to steady herself before walking back towards the front door. She couldn't go inside. Not yet.

Instead, Kitty found a comfortable spot on the steps to read her letter, with the light from the windows enough to see the letters on the page.

_Kitty,_

_You saw me writing this in class, so I kinda wrote a different one in 6th period. I hope you don't mind._

_I don't know if you've noticed or not, but…I can be kind of awkward when I need to say stuff. I'm not like Pietro, who will say the first thing that comes to his mind. And I'm REALLY glad I'm not Pietro. _

_I just wanted to say that I'm really glad that you're my partner. And that we're going out tonight. Because I like you, I mean, you're pretty and nice and stuff. And smart. Yeah, you're smart too. _

The next few lines had a lot of scratches and cross outs, as if he still wasn't sure what he wanted to say.

_I guess I just wanted to know that I'm glad I met you, even if you are an X-geek. You're the best one there is. Not that there's much competition. _

_God, I don't even know why I wrote this letter. I should just scrap it, it's not like it matters anyway. But I guess as long as I'm writing this, I should get it out. I love Kitty Pryde. I think she's gorgeous and wonderful and perfect. I'm not even sure what love is, but I still think I love her. Because 'like' doesn't mean the same thing as I feel._

_So, if I'm brave enough to give this to you, I just want you to know that I love you. And I hope you love me too. And if you don't well…I dunno. You don't have to I guess. It'd be nice though. Real nice._

_-Lance_

A drop of water hit the paper and Kitty wiped it up quickly, not wanting to ruin the perfection of the article. Instead, she set the beautiful letter aside and buried her head in her hands. Only then did she cry.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know it's angsty, but conflict creates angst. And if this were all fluff I'd probably be giving myself cavities real soon and I've been eating enough junk lately as it is. Why did the Brotherhood attack City Hall? If you keep reading you'll find out. I mean…after I figure it out…

I do like this chapter though. There are tons and tons of Lance and Kitty moments, plus a few cool Rogue parts for all of her fans out there (though I must admit I am far from a diehard XME Rogue fan). Oh, and before anyone asks, I don't not like Scott. I like the conflict Scott and Lance create. I think Scott is sexy as hell, though that could have something to do with the fact that Kirby Morrow is his voice actor and Kirby is my future husband. Oh, yes, I asked him.

I really have no idea where I came up with the whole "Lance gets upset from the movie" thing, except for maybe being mentally disturbed from actually having to watch that movie. He is in foster care and it never says much about his past, so I just went with it and worked out some angst to move the romance along. And now I'm going to go hug my Sea World polar bear I named Lance. PLEASE tell me what you think of the letter. I really like it, but I'm not sure if I captured him as well as I could.

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Bant: Yeah, I have those Health projects right now, and they're not a picnic. I will check out your fic when I have a chance. I'm not too big on Kiotr (as you can probably tell, I'm a Lancitty fan), but it's always good to give new things a chance! I'm glad you like the story!

DOJ: I'm so glad I have everyone in character. If there's one thing it's a stickler for it's that none of my stories are out of character. I hate that. I'm so glad you've continued to read the story, you're so sweet! Thank you!

El Diablo: I love everything that is Lancitty. I downloaded the clip from Joyride where he "rescues" her from the pool (even though I have the DVD) and I watch it nonstop. So if either of us is a dork, it's me. There will be tons more Lancitty in the future, so I hope you read it!

Tillallareone: Thank you for saying everyone is in character. I hope you like the story.

Emi: That is the funniest thing you've ever said. I like the idea of Beast Boy being Kitty (since he can technically be a kitty…), but the thought of Lance being Terra makes me crack up every time I think about it. Don't ask why, you know I'm odd. reads it and cracks up again

Half-n-Half: Finally! Someone else feels my pain! What the hell is it with Starbucks trying to kill us? I'm so happy you like the story, yours are hilarious!

Numbuh half way hell: Thank you! And I don't know why the bottom fell out. The guy at the store said it was because when people take one out of the fridge the others fall down and it gets weaker, but I'm a conspiracy theorist, so I think they're just trying to kill us. But that will not stop me from finishing this story, so I hope you enjoy it and keep reading!


	4. Innocent

Disclaimer: I still do not own X-men Evolution, or Baby-Think-It-Over, aka, the thing of the DEVIL!

Note: None of my betas were available, and I felt so bad that I took so long to get this up, so I didn't wait an extra day or two to get it beta-ed. I'm sorry if it's totally awful without the beta, if it's absolutely horrid I'll take it down and get it beta-ed and put it back up.

* * *

Kitty held on to that letter as if it was her only connection to the world. It grounded her to the stairs as she thought through what to do now. Someone stepped in front of her, looking down at her with concerned brown eyes. "Are you ok?" Amara asked.

"You look like your dog just died," Tabitha agreed. "And you don't have a dog."

Shadowcat looked up at her two friends. "No…I'm not ok…" Defiantly, she stood and walked into the house, just as Scott and Jean were returning from their talk. "Hey, Summers!"

He looked up at her. "Kitty? Look, I know you're still upset about that jerk Alvers, but…"

"That's your problem! Lance isn't the jerk, you are! Like, just who do you think you are? First you hit my boyfriend, then you tell me I can't date him! It's not your decision, and you are not my father!" She jabbed him in the chest angrily with her index finger.

"Well, I am your team leader!" He replied just as angrily.

"Well, ya know what? I totally don't want to be on any team you're on! It's like, none of your business! So stay out of my face and stay out of my life!" She pushed away from him and ran up the stairs, phasing through the door of her room. When she realized that it didn't give her the kind of emotional satisfaction she needed, she opened up the door and slammed it closed.

A heavy sigh shuddered through her body, as she turned towards the room, back resting against the wood of the door. After a moment, she realized her hand was still wrapped around the handle and gently pried it away. Kitty wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging them to her chest.

The hours or minutes she sat there crying flew by as she eventually fell asleep. Her blue eyes opened the next day to find a sunny, cloudless day outside, which seemed to mock her mood. Kitty got up from her uncomfortable position, stretching out the kinks in her joints and back, vaguely wondering how Rogue had gotten in to go to bed last night.

A quick change into a pair of jeans and a light blue shirt helped her discard her outfit that she could smell reeked of despair and loneliness. It took her at least ten minutes to brush her hair, as if she were trying to brush out all the knots and tangles in her life.

She rested in bed hugging her stuffed Lockheed, and wondered if she'd been too mean to Scott the night before. But after rereading the letter, she decided that he deserved it. Unfortunately, everything was going to be very tense now.

Kitty opened her door to see Bobby walking down the hallway. "Morning," she told him.

"Oh, hey, Kitty. Um…Amara, Sam, and I are going to the mall. You wanna come?" He asked in an attempt to cheer her up.

Her blue eyes lit up. "Sure! But how are we going to get there? You don't have a car, and if I remember correctly, whenever you ask Mr. Logan to use the X-van he rolls his eyes."

"We were going to ask Scott, but I'll ask Jean instead!" He added quickly. "It'll be ok, don't worry."

"Thank, Bobby," she grinned. "Actually…could you drop me off somewhere instead?"

"Do I even want to know?" A slow smile spread on her face and he groaned. "You want us to take you to the Brotherhood house, don't you?"

"Please."

He ran a hand through his sandy hair. "It's up to Jean. I'll ask her, ok?"

"Thanks, Bobby. I'm gonna go grab something to eat before we leave." She waved and ran down the stairs, glancing quickly into the kitchen and sighing in relief to see it was empty.

Kitty popped some waffles in the toaster, waiting until they were a nice golden color before smothering butter and syrup on them before sitting at the table and eating them slowly. She was done with the first one when Kurt came in. "Good morning, Kitty."

"Oh, hey, Kurt," she chewed a piece of syrupy goodness.

"…Are you ok?" he asked and took the seat next to her.

Kitty was extra-glad Kurt was in his best friend mood today. "I dunno. I mean, I feel kinda bad about what I said to Scott, but, like, I can't believe he accused Lance like that!"

"No offense or anything, but Lance isn't exactly known for being a Good Samaritan," Kurt held his hands up in defense before Kitty could say anything. "I'm not saying he's a bad guy, but I wouldn't put it past him. But I trust you, so if you said he didn't do it, then he didn't do it."

She smiled and ate the last bite of her waffles. "Thanks, Kurt. I gotta go to the mall with Bobby and Amara, but I'll see you later, ok?" She put her dish in the dishwasher, and kissed Kurt's cheek. "Thanks for being my best friend."

Kitty was brushing her teeth when Amara knocked on the door. "Kitty? We're about to leave."

"Coming, one sec!" Kitty looked at herself in the mirror, quickly brushed her ponytail, and, as an afterthought, smoothed on some lip gloss that Jean had left on the counter. When she finally felt she was looking nice enough, she opened the door to see the younger girl smiling at her.

"Hey, Kitty. You look nice," Amara put an arm around her waist as they went downstairs."

"Thanks, Amara," Kitty put her arm around Amara's shoulders, happy that her friends at the Institute were so sweet.

Sam, Bobby and Jean were waiting downstairs and piled into one of the many cars at the Institute. "You have your cell phone, right?" Jean asked as they neared the Brotherhood house.

"Yes, Jean. And it's on too."

"Alright, we'll call you when we're on the way over to pick you up. If you need us, we're only a call away." The redhead put a hand on Kitty's shoulder as she pulled to the side of the road.

"I know. Thanks everyone, have a good time at the mall," Shadowcat opened the door and slowly walked up to the front door and knocked.

She could hear fighting through the door, and wasn't sure if they had heard her, so she knocked again. "You guys, shut up!" Lance yelled, then opened the door. "Kitty?"

"Um…like…hey, Lance," she replied sheepishly. "Can we talk?"

"Sure!" He shot a quick glare to the members of his house, then walked out and closed the door behind him. "How'd you get here?"

"Jean dropped me off on the way to the mall."

"And Summers knows?"

"No, he doesn't. Just because he and Jean are dating doesn't mean they agree on everything," Kitty said, then quickly changed the subject. "I…read your letter."

"Oh. Well, uh, about that…I, mean…" Lance was about to continue but Kitty cut him off as she hugged him, kissing him deeply. Since he definitely was not in the mood to complain, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed back.

When they broke up, she smiled. "I love you too, Lance."

He blinked. "Really? Like…really?" Lance gave her his eager puppy smile. "Great! I mean….wow!"

She giggled. "I just want one thing. Will you say it to me? Please?"

"Oh, uh, sure," He ran a hand through his hair. "I love you, Kitty."

A huge grin split across her face. As much as it was nice to read it, it was a million times better to hear it. She rested a head against his chest, looking like a completely different person from her utterly depressed self last night.

"How long can you stay?" He asked, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"They're going to pick me up on the way back from the mall, so I should have a few hours," she told him happily.

Before Lance could say anything, Pietro opened the front door and shouted out, "Hey, Lance, get in here and get your kid. It's staring at me."

"Then turn it around, idiot!" He yelled back, rolling his eyes.

"Then it'll be facing Toad and he says if it looks at him one more time he'll slime it good!"

"Grrr…I'll be right back, Kitty," Lance ran up the steps and into the house, where she could hear him shouting at his roommates. About a minute later, he returned, carrying Callie's carrier in one hand a blanket in the other. "I thought we could sit out here and talk."

"Ok!" She took the blanket from him and spread it out for them to sit on. "This is nice, Lance."

He sat behind her, giving her the opportunity to lean back against him so he could wrap his arms around her and rest his chin on her head. "Mmmhmmm…You smell nice."

Kitty giggled, "It is. Every once in a while I forget what relaxation is like." She traced lines on his big hands with an index finger. "And I don't care what anyone says. You make me happy, and that's what matters."

"You weren't happy before?" Lance asked, a twinge of hope in his voice.

"I wasn't unhappy. But I think there's a difference between enjoying life and being truly happy. And that difference is you." She turned around to smile at his shocked face and kisses him.

He kissed back, wrapping is arms around her small waist until he couldn't breathe. For a minute, he nuzzled her neck. Kitty giggled and was going back in for another kiss when a wailing was heard behind them. Both turned to look at the fake infant that was causing the ruckus.

"I really hate kids," Lance mumbled, kissing his girlfriend's forehead, then picking up Callie and sticking the key in her back.

Kitty giggled. "It's hot out here, mind if I run in and get us some sodas or something?"

"Go ahead, the kid probably won't let me leave for another thirty-five minutes or something."

She stood up, smiling at how cute he looked with the baby, then cautiously walked into the Brotherhood house. The other three guys were crowded around the television, and they didn't notice as she walked into the kitchen and took two cans of soda out.

"What? We didn't do that, yo!" Toad yelled angrily from a chair.

Kitty stuck her head through the wall, to see the boys staring in shock at the television, where a reporter was saying, "The Brotherhood of Bayville attacked City Hall last night, in an attempt to halt the process of a registration of all mutant students in Bayville's schools."

"That's a good idea, but we didn't do it!" Fred agreed.

Kitty phased fully through the wall, "You mean, you guys didn't do that last night?"

"How'd you get in here?" Pietro asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I opened the door. Lance sent me in to get something to drink."

"Oh, well, you heard of this, yo?" Todd wondered, nodding towards the television.

"Yeah, Sc-someone at the Institute told me last night," she told them, holding back the part where Lance got punched over it. "Are you sure it wasn't you?"

"Unless we were brainwashed," Pietro said, then thought it over. "I mean, it could happen, but my—Magneto wouldn't do that. I don't think."

The reported announced, "We have received a tape of one of the security cameras that was rolling during the attack. Here it is, only on ten."

The four watched the television intensely as the picture came up. It had the boys destroying property and taunting hostages. Toad slimed some other cameras, as Avalanche made the building shake and Blob lifted up heavy pieces of furniture and threw them against the walls. Wanda hexed any bullets that went her way as Pietro ran around trying to take everyone's guns.

"That can't be us!" Toad said proudly. "My cuddlebumps is there!"

"Doesn't Wanda like…live with you?" Kitty asked, sitting on a lopsided arm of the couch.

"She's been away for a week," Pietro told her. "She said not to expect her back till tomorrow at the earliest, which was actually kind of considerate, now that I think about it."

Kitty watched the clip, paying attention. She didn't notice anything different until Toad stuck his tongue out to catch something. "It's computer generated!"

"What does that mean?" Fred asked.

"All these effects, they're done on computer! I mean, like, they probably got people dressed as you, taped it, then took it and CGed it, and, like, put it back in the camera or something," Kitty thought it all over in her head. "I mean, all the clips with Pietro have just him alone, I'm sure they just sped up those."

"What about all the witnesses, yo?"

"A hypnotist? I dunno, like, unless they're mutants and they know someone with advanced telepathy or something."

Pietro got up and was on her in a flash, holding her shoulders and looking her straight in the eye, something he had never done before. "You're sure about this?"

The front door opened and everyone looked to Lance, who was holding the baby. "Ok, Pietro, get your hands off my girlfriend. And why are there eight police cars outside?"

Pietro's hands fell to his side, but he didn't stop looking at Kitty. "Are you sure?"

She nodded and reached over for Lance's free hand. "Yeah. Because, for once, you guys are innocent."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but I've been kind of blocked. I like working on this story after I can actually get myself working on it though. School pretty much kicked my butt the last two weeks: I had to take the baby home and it refused to let me sleep, and then I have FCATS. Bleh. But I have midterms next week and I get out of school early, so I should get time to work on it.

So where is this going next? I have no idea. For once, I'm making this up as I go along. Which is kinda a fun way to do it. Anyway, I'll update as soon as possible, but reviews help fuel me along!

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review Responses:

Emi: I would ask Sacchi to do it, but with exams I'm sure she's hoping she gets lost and ends up in Cambodia or something. It's cute though, except I think I'd rather give Lance and Kitty a better ending than BB and Terra.

Bant: Oh, my god, I HATE Health. That class should just die and I should get two hours a day to work on this instead. I'm actually starting to be a Kiotr fan after reading Astonishing X-men. I still prefer Lancitty in Evolution since there's hardly any Kiotr evidence in the show, but they're cute in the comics.

DOJ: Lance and Scott are both great. Scott's a sweetie in his own way and Lance is my eager puppy (which is his nickname after the scene where he saves Kitty in Joyride). I like some Kitty/Scott tension as well, because it'd adds depth to both of them. Plus, it gives Jean a chance to get a personality, which people often neglect to give her. And Kirby is SO sexy, I'm so glad I got ten hugs from him and stalked him for a whole weekend…

Heartsyhawk: I'm really glad you like my story!

Anti-XYo: I've honestly never been to a Starbucks. I much be the only person in the world who hasn't. I still love their fraps though. I'm so happy you enjoyed the chapter, I'm gonna try not to make it so sad and angsty anymore.

El Diablo: The show needed so much more Lance/Kitty than it did. Cajun Spice shoulda just been thrown out the window for a Lancitty episode. Except for that cute scene with Pyro, but we could have worked that in someone else. I hope you keep reading!


	5. Guilty

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution or our special guest that I won't give away. They are all property of Marvel. I do own Sergeant Michael Masi, but since I just used my uncle's name, no harm done.

* * *

The rest of the Brotherhood followed Lance and Kitty outside. An officer stood by his car, watching them warily as the back up had their hands ready with their guns. "Is there a problem, sir?" Lance asked, attempting to keep the smugness out of his voice.

"I'm Sergeant Michael Masi. We're here to arrest the Brotherhood of Bayville for the attack on City Hall yesterday," the tall man said.

"But they didn't do it!" Kitty couldn't help but say.

"And who are you, young lady?"

"Katherine Pryde, sir," she whispered, but didn't fail to meet his stern gaze.

"Well, Miss Pryde, I don't believe you belong here. Why don't you run on home?" He suggested, though it was more like a command.

"That's a good idea!" Lance agreed, much to everyone else's surprise. "I'll talk to you later, Kitty."

Shadowcat glared at her boyfriend. "I'm not leaving you, Lance Alvers."

"Then you'll have to come with us, ma'am. As will you all," Masi opened the back door, ushering Lance, Kitty and Pietro in. "You two go with Officer Johnson," he told Fred and Todd, pointing to another man who was waiting with the backseat open. "Alvers, why are you holding a doll?"

"School project," Avalanche muttered, loosening his hold on Callie.

Kitty rolled her eyes and took the child from him. "God, I'll take her."

"Alright, everyone in the car!" Sergeant Masi ordered. Pietro slid in, followed by Lance and Kitty. Blob and Toad climbed into another car, while the rest of the cars were dismissed. The Sergeant sat in the driver's seat and started reading them their rights, which no one listened to anyway.

Shadowcat stared frostily out the window. Unfortunately, Lance wasn't sure who she was mad at: him or the cops. He hesitantly reached over and squeezed her hand. "Sorry, Mrs. Alvers," he said softly, giving her the patented eager puppy look. "Forgive me?"

She sighed and smiled softly. "Of course."

On his side of the backseat, Pietro snorted. "Man, you are so whipped."

"At least some girl likes me. Your own sister hates your guts half the time," Lance smirked as Pietro twitched.

Luckily, the officer shot them a look before Pietro could retort, which would inevitably lead to a huge fight between all of them. From there, the drive was silent all the way to the station, where they were then put in a large cell.

"Don't I get my one phone call?" Kitty asked.

One of the guards shot her a look. "After we gather all the information, you can then use the phone. Now, sit down, young lady."

She scowled and leaned against the wall until a few minutes later, she was called out. Kitty quickly dialed the number at the Institute, almost screaming with frustration as she heard the busy tone in her ear. "It's busy, can I try again?" She asked the officer, who just sighed and nodded.

Once more she tried, and once again it was busy. Finally, she just pushed the 0 button. "Operator? I need to arrange an emergency breakthrough." Giving them the number, she waited until someone picked up.

"Hello?" Kurt's heavy accent came through the phone.

"Kurt, how long have you been on the phone!" Kitty demanded angrily, planning to phase through everything electrical he had when she got home.

"I'm talking to Amanda. Can I call you back later?" He asked exasperatedly.

"People don't arrange an emergency breakthrough when you can call them back later. Now, like, put the Professor on." He started to argue with her, but she cut him off, "If you don't put the Professor on, I'm spending the night in jail and it'll be all your fault. I'd hate to see what kind of training Mr. Logan puts you through for that."

"Jail? What? I'll go get him!" She could hear the BAMF! as he teleported somewhere else in the house. "Professor, Kitty's on the phone! It's an emergency!"

"Kitty?" Charles Xavier's concerned voice filtered through the earpiece of the phone. "Is everything alright?"

"Not exactly…you see…Could you come pick me up?" She asked quietly.

"Of course I can send someone to get you. Where are you?"

Kitty hesitated for a second before whispering, "Jail…"

"What? Dear, what happened?" he asked in an alarmed tone.

"Well, you saw on the news that the Brotherhood supposedly like, messed up City Hall and then Scott totally freaked out, so I went over there to see if Lance was ok," she explained.

"I thought you were going to the mall."

"…I took a little detour?" she offered.

Xavier sighed. "I'll be down at the jailhouse in a minute. Just sit tight and tell the Brotherhood not to do anything to get them in more trouble."

"Thanks, Professor," Kitty hung up the phone and walked back to her cell. "He's on his way."

"Lucky you," Toad scoffed. "But who're we supposed to call, yo? I doubt Magneto or Mystique is going to come bail us out of jail."

There was nothing to say to the cold hard fact. Lance wrapped an arm around Kitty's shoulder, knowing this whole deal was probably tearing her apart more than them. The mess had nothing to do with her, but she was now going to have a police record and probably get grounded on top of it. Man, what a day…

"Hey, you think maybe my love will come save us?" Todd suddenly quipped excitedly.

"Yeah, and then Summers and I will elope and open a Bed and Breakfast on the North Pole," Lance snorted.

Fred noticed Pietro tense up at the mention of his sister. Lightly, he patted his friends back, which only served to push him over. "Whoops. Sorry." Quicksilver said nothing (which could be seen as a bad sign in itself), and stood up again, leaning against the wall.

It was then Sergeant Masi came to their cell, and opened the door, nodding to Kitty. "C'mon, out."

She hugged Lance tightly, then walked out of the cell with her head trained towards the ground. Her boyfriend watched her leave, a sinking pit in his stomach. It was suddenly very lonely.

Masi raised an eyebrow at the boys. "You too, let's go."

They all blinked in unison. "Huh?"

Professor Xavier wheeled back to the cell. "Hello, everyone. I merely explained to Sergeant Masi here that because your guardians Ms. Darkholme and Mr. Lensherr were out of town that you were staying with me."

"Uh…right, right," Fred said, leaving the cell and dragging Pietro with him.

The Brotherhood and Kitty walked out towards the car, with the Sergeant and Professor in tow. "Now, you keep these kids out of trouble, Mr. Xavier."

"Will do. Thank you, my good man," the Professor shook Masi's hand and everyone piled into the car.

The drive to the Brotherhood house was perfectly silent. No one had anything to say, or if they did, they didn't dare voice it aloud. They pulled up in front of the run down boarding house and they all got out. "I guess I'll see you at school on Monday," Lance whispered to Kitty.

"Monday, fourth period," she told him encouragingly, blowing a light kiss to him when the Professor wasn't looking.

He stood there and watched the van drive away, Todd patting his back comfortingly. "Hey, look on the bright side. At least the robot didn't cry the whole time."

And, as if on cue, Callie started to cry.

Lance shoved the key into the baby's back, fixing Toad with a glare that could scare Logan. "I _hate _you."

* * *

"Did you tell anyone?" Kitty questioned slowly as they pulled up the driveway of the Institute.

"I did not. But then, you told Kurt, so everyone within five miles of Bayville should know," Xavier answered with a twinkle in his eye.

Kitty giggled, but still dreaded walking through the door of the mansion. When she finally got up the courage to go inside, Kurt practically attacked her.

"Katzchen!" He called in relief of seeing her all in one part. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"Kurt, I'm fine," she said, sighing with contentment as he hugged her.

"Are you sure?" The German prodded, yellow eyes worried.

"Positive," Kitty assured him, grinning in spite of herself.

Scott approached her carefully. "Kit-"

"Please, Scott. Not right now. I'm not up to hearing it," She begged of him, the stress of the day finally falling on her shoulders.

"Why don't you go lay down," Xavier suggested. "You look exhausted."

"That's, like, a totally good idea. Thanks," She waved to the men, then walked slowly up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Scott, I'm expecting a visitor soon," the Professor said as wheeled towards his office. "Will you show them to the study when they arrive?"

"Sure."

"Thank you." Charles Xavier closed the door behind himself as he sat behind the desk in his office. He desperately didn't want to tell Kitty that she couldn't see Lance, because this wasn't the Brotherhood's fault. He could see that, even if the rest of the house didn't.

Unfortunately, it seemed that whenever the two of them got together, something bad happened. The first time they met, he destroyed their old school almost killing Kitty, Jean and Mr. and Mrs. Pryde in the process.

When he came to join the X-men, it caused a great riff between him and Scott, creating slight tension between the older boys and the New Mutants, who had accepted Lance quiet easily. Truthfully, he believed that if they had been kept separate, Avalanche would have got on quite well in the mansion.

He wasn't sure all of the details of their school dance, and it certainly wasn't either of their faults that demons from another dimension had attacked, but at the end of the dance, he saw how disappointed Kitty had been that their first real date had gotten cut short.

Then there was the fight they had had at the school board meeting. From the accounts he'd heard from other students, they'd never seen Kitty more crushed then that one line from Lance: "Right. I'll never be good enough for you!" Though he had not seen it personally, he did hear her crying that night in the room she shared with the other girls as they tried to comfort her, tell her that everything was going to be ok.

Xavier loved all of the students of the Institute like his own children and would never want to see any of them hurt. The question was, which was more detrimental? To let them play it out, with the large possibility of more pain than either of them imagined? Or to stop it where it was, hurting both now and perhaps sparing both of them a world of hurt?

He didn't know.

There was a knock on the door and a very red Scott stuck his head in. "Uh, hey, Professor. You're uh…guest is here."

The door opened to reveal a tall woman. She was beautiful, no older than very early twenties, with pale blond hair and icy blue eyes. She had an air of money about her, and if you couldn't tell from that, you could definitely figure she was rich; the best body money could buy was barely covered by a small white shirt and skintight white pants. There was one thing that kept her from being the most beautiful woman alive: her face. There was a sharp intensity about it that could only be described as scary.

"Good day, Miss Frost," Xavier greeted the woman.

"It's great to see you, Charles," She greeted in return, her cool voice coated in honey as she kissed his cheek.

"That will be all, Scott," The Professor told his gaping student, then quickly checked his reflection to make sure no silver lipstick was on his face.

"Oh, uh, right. See you later," the student left, leaving to the two colleagues alone to talk.

"You know, I really must visit more often," the woman mused, making herself comfortable in a chair. "It's less than an hour plane ride."

"I assume you know why I asked you to come," Xavier said.

"Not a clue."

Apparently this was going to be harder than he thought, though he shouldn't have been surprised with the stubborn woman. "You've heard of the attack on our City Hall?"

"I did hear brief snippets of the story on the news. Those Brotherhood boys committed the crime," Emma said lightly, examining her perfectly sculpted finger nails.

"No, they did not."

"You don't say. Any ideas who did, then?"

He sighed deeply. "Emma, I know you did it."

"Charles, how on Earth would I get the Brotherhood to do that all the way from Massachusetts, hmm?" She smirked.

"Don't lie to me. You may be a telepath, Miss Frost, but I'm a better one."

Neither of them said anything for a while, just stared at each other, trying to gain the upper hand. "Fine!" she snapped. "I did it. I hired goons to dress like them, had others alter the tapes and fixed everyone's minds myself. But I suppose the great Charles Xavier didn't have to read my mind to figure that out, did he?"

"Why did you do it, Emma?" He asked exasperatedly.

"Bayville is the worst place for mutants. Trying to ban them from schools and now a mutant registration act? I wanted to show them that we weren't going to take it lying down!" She told him forcefully, banging her fist on his desk.

"There are plenty of ways to prove your point without violence and hostility," Xavier pointed out. "Haven't you ever heard of Gandhi?"

"Yes, and he's dead, what's your point?"

"My point is that because of your antics four innocent boys and one of my students were arrested today. Now, I agree with you that we shouldn't be sitting ducks and let this happen to us, but force can not be our only option. In fact, it shouldn't be an option at all." He rested his chin in a cupped hand for a second. "Emma, I'd like to offer you a proposition. I know you're working on opening the Massachusetts' Academy for mutants in your area. But if you could fly here maybe once a week, if not more, I can help you with your school and we can work together on the problems Bayville and the rest of the world has with mutants."

The young woman thought about this for a moment. "Professor Xavier, I believe we have a deal."

They shook on it. "Very good. Now, why don't you stay for dinner and we can open a bottle of champagne to celebrate the partnership."

"That sounds lovely. If you'll excuse me for just one moment, I need to go outside to make a call," she brandished her cell phone from her purse. "No reception in here."

"I understand. Though please feel free to use our phone," He gestured to one sitting on his desk.

"Oh, thanks alright. I'm getting used to not having a landline. Hopefully I'll soon be sharing one with a bunch of mutant teenagers myself." She stood up and walked towards the door of the office. "By the way, who was that charming young man who showed me in earlier?"

"…Scott Summers," he replied warily.

"Scott Summers," Emma Frost repeated, a smile forming over her lips. "Interesting."

* * *

A/N: Please forgive me from updating so long! I've been busy and sick and all kinds of other stuff. But, to make up for it, we have some semblance of a plot besides all the Lancitty goodness we can muster up!

Now, comic book readers might be familiar with one Emma Frost. I've read the Phoenix Saga, but I'm mostly working off the Emma from Astonishing X-men and Phoenix: Endsong. And while it is my policy not to bash characters, I will make an exception for her. Seriously, I know I can't be the only one waiting for Jean to come back from the dead and rip her head off for stealing her husband, the little home wrecker. So if you see some bashing, I can't help myself. It's fun and she deserves it.

And if Pietro seems OOC, trust me, it's for a reason. I get to do character exploration, whee!

I think I've finally settled on a time frame for the story now. It's anywhere between the end of Self Possessed (which was a stupid episode, IMO) and Dark Horizons, since Scott and Jean haven't graduated yet.

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review Responses:

Heartsyhawk: I'm glad you like the story, and trust me, it's gonna be getting really good soon.

Iamhollywood: Well, our teacher gipped us. We had to do the baby thing, but no marriages. But Health class is OVER and I no longer have to go ever ever ever again. I'm really happy you read, thank you.

DOJ: Lance is the ultimate eager puppy. There are just those few scenes that ultimately prove that. The pool scene from Joyride and when Kitty asks him to go with her in Shadowdance. It's a good thing Kitty's smart and Xavier has a contact list of all the major telepaths in the world.

El Diablo: Unless you're a Romy fan, you didn't miss much from Cajun Spice. It was totally predictable too. In my opinion, most of Season 4 was a total bust, besides the really good ones like Target X, No Good Deed and Ascension 1 and 2. There's some hope that maybe with X-3 coming out next summer (I doubt even the movie's gonna come out though) they might bring back XME. Aah, we can dream…

Half-n-Half: Kitty's perfectly able to stand up to anyone and I love writing that. She's not a ditz people, really! She's a genius! And I love the Lancitty. Love it love it love it. I'm gonna put more in the next chapter just because this one is lacking. Thanks for reading.

Bant: Well, as of now I've read the Kitty Pryde and Wolverine comic mini-series and all of I have to say about Piotr is: I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DUMPED KITTY YOU JERK! And then five years later he comes in during Excalibur and gets into a fight with her new boyfriend? What's up with that! grumbles You'd better redeem yourself in Astonishing X-men, buddy…But, on the bright side, Health class is OVER. Finito! DONE! Heh, thanks for reading.

Shadyk: I think having a plot and a couple that actually makes sense in at least a random lunatic's mind is important. Apparently, most of the XME fanfiction community doesn't agree with me. I'm so happy you like it though, I hope you keep reading.

Xmengirlzrule: Of course the Brotherhood is innocent. I don't think Lance would do anything right now to jeopardize their relationship. Thanks for reading.

Sagistar: Well, I love Scotty, but he's a jerk when it comes to Lance. I'm so glad you read my story, I really hope you keep reading!


	6. Frost and Heat

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution or Emma Frost. They are both property of Marvel.

**Important A/N**: I don't like Emma Frost. At all. If you do, this is not the story for you. I urge you to find other Lancitty goodness, or write some yourself, since the world needs more of it. I don't want any flames, because I am warning you now, there will be routine bashing of her, as much as humanly possible. Almost as much as my Astonishing X-men oneshot, Rachel Summers: Step-Daughter from Hell. Flames will be mocked endlessly, and used as more fodder when I burn Emma at the stake.

This is dedicated to Laine for her awesome poem:

Emma's a bitch

Frost is a witch

I wish I could pitch

A mace onto her face.

Shakespeare, eat your heart out.

* * *

Being overtired was the worst. Kitty thought she would easily be able to fall asleep, once she curled in bed with Lockheed, but apparently the world didn't like her today. She must have laid there for about almost two hours trying to sleep, trying to think of anything but Scott's angry face and the hurt look in Lance's eyes as he said goodbye to her.

Tears started flowing again and in the back of her mind, she was mildly afraid of death by dehydration. Salty water dripped off her nose onto her pillow. She was determined to get the hurt, the pain out now, before more started.

The door behind her opened slowly. Kitty immediately knew it was Rogue by the way she shut the door and the sound of her feet on the wooden floor. "Hey," her roommate greeted her cautiously.

"Hi," Kitty attempted a smile as more tears spilled down her cheek. "What's up?"

"Nothin'…" Rogue watched as Kitty sat up, wiping the tears from her cheek. "You ok?"

"I'm fine!" A smile was forced on her face. "Don't we have to do the project for the class…?" She got up and walked over to her desk, looking for nothing as she flipped through her folders and papers.

"Kitty?" Rogue approached her hesitantly, watching her teammate cry against the wall. It was very common knowledge that Rogue was not an affectionate person. But even she couldn't help herself as she hugged Kitty, letting the shorter girl rest her head on her shoulder. "C'mon, don't cry over Lance or Scott or whoever you're crying over. It's not worth it."

They stood there for a few minutes, Rogue uncomfortably patting Kitty's back. "I don't know what's wrong! When did everything start getting so messed up?" she demanded, wiping the water off her face.

"Ah dunno. Ah'm guessin' when you fell through your floor that first time."

Kitty laughed bitterly. "Actually, falling out of my locker makes more sense." Rogue gave her a weird look. "Two stupid girls from my school locked me in my locker. I fell out and knocked right into Lance." She smiled lightly. "He had paint on his face, and he looked so cute…"

"And that cute guy loves ya, so Ah guess I'm sayin' don't give up. Not a lot of people have what you have. Ya know, a guy who would do anythin' for you, and you know he would too."

"I know that, Rogue," Kitty told her.

"So stop cryin' and cheer up before I have to steal Blob's power and beat some sense into you," she elbowed Shadowcat lightly.

"Like, as if you could!" Kitty shoved back.

"We do have to do that History project though," Rogue reminded her.

"Ugh…" She made a face. "Did we even pick a topic yet?"

BAMF! "Hi, Katzchen. Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine, Kurt. Thanks for asking," She grinned at him. "Something you need?"

"I just came to escort you and my sister to dinner. Plus, you have to meet our guest!"

"Why don't I like that look in your eye, Elf?" Rogue asked as she took one of his arms and Kitty took the other. He teleported them downstairs so they could join everyone else in the dining room.

A certain redhead was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest, and looked as if she wanted to blast the room apart with her TK. "What's up with you?" Kitty asked.

Jean didn't answer, just pointed to a gaggle of boys. They surrounded a certain visiting…woman…, who was chatting with them all and flirting with Scott. He was in the middle of the group and grinning his head off when, actually, he should have been lucky that his girlfriend hadn't ripped his head off yet.

"Looks like someone forgot to put all her clothes on this morning…" Rogue drawled. She didn't look very thrilled at their guest either.

Emma Frost looked over at them. "Oh, look. The girls and the adorable blue elf."

Kurt grinned, but Kitty shivered at the smile on the older woman's face. It creeped her out. "Ja, Miss Frost. Do you want something? I can get it."

"No, I got it!" Bobby insisted, creating an ice slide to the kitchen and returning with a glass of sparkling water. "I just figured you'd want things cool, Miss Frost."

The blonde woman laughed, while the other girls looked on with disgust. "His puns are almost as bad as Lance's," Amara said as she joined her teammates.

"Tell me about it," Rogue wrinkled her nose. "Ah smell a bunch of rats."

Beast came out of the kitchen. "Dinner awaits everyone. Miss Frost, please, let me escort you to the dining room."

"You old charmer, you!" As she took his hand and started flirting with yet another guy, her glass tipped over, spilling ice and water all over the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"I'll get it," Scott assured her.

"Thank you, Scott. You're such a gentleman!" She drew a finger lightly along his jawbone before walking to the dining room, followed by her cult. Jean bristled furiously, causing a vase to fly at the tall woman's head, just missing. No one but her friends noticed.

The girls started walking towards the dining room when Kitty ran into Scott, who was kneeling on the floor collected the ice. This would have been ok if her foot hadn't connected with his rather sensitive genital area.

"Like, oh my god! Are you ok? I must have mistimed my phase…"

"I'm fine…" Scott squeaked, holding his crotch.

Kitty walked away and Amara gave her a look. "You didn't apologize."

"Just because it was an accident doesn't mean I'm sorry."

Scott continued to wince. He looked up at his girlfriend, who was standing over him and smirking. "A little help?"

Jean scowled. "Hmph! Why don't you get your little Miss Frost to help?" With that, she stalked away, leaving a depressed and pained Scott in the middle of the floor.

Kurt shook his head sympathetically. "This is why I'm glad Amanda doesn't live with me," he explained as he helped his friend up.

"Lucky elf…"

Everyone was already seated when Kurt and Scott came in, taking the last two chairs. "What's for dinner, 'Ro?" Logan asked hungrily.

"Pork roasts. You like pork, don't you, Miss Frost?" the tall African woman asked.

"Oh, of course. And, please, do call me Emma."

"Very well, Emma. Ok, kids, you know the drill. Pass it down." Ororo loaded up the plates with pork, mashed potatoes and green beans, then them down each side of the table.

As one reached Kitty, she passed it over to Rogue and kept the same pace until Rogue had one for herself to eat. Jean, who was on the other side of her, kept the next plate. Emma—who was unfortunately sitting across the table from them—noticed. "Jean, why didn't you give Kitty a plate? Here, have mine."

She pushed away the plate. "I don't want it."

Storm walked over and set a large salad before Kitty. "Enjoy, dear."

"Thanks, Ororo," she smiled at the tall woman, then glared across the table again. "I'm a vegetarian."

Emma wrinkled her nose. "A vegetarian? But you're missing out on some great stuff. Here, at least try some pork." She cut off a piece and held it out on her fork.

"No," Kitty said forcefully, stabbing into her salad. "Besides, it's not kosher." She chewed the lettuce with a satisfying crunch.

Emma managed to regain her composition in a matter of seconds before Rogue interrupted. "Insulting her eating habits an' tryin' to make her go against her religion? Not a bit controlling, now are you?"

"But, I…"

"Roll, Kitty?" Jean asked loudly, holding the bread basket out to her.

"Totally, Jean. Thank you." She took one as Emma fixed the three of them with a glare.

The girls didn't hesitate at all in returning it.

* * *

On Monday morning everyone glared at Kitty at least once. She had been wishing it to get here since Saturday afternoon and though their reasoning said that it didn't make sense, the rest of their tired brains said that she must have somehow managed to bring it here faster.

Of course, Kitty didn't care. In a few hours she'd be able to talk to Lance. She could take everyone "accidentally" aiming for her in the danger room sessions. As soon as she'd finished eating, she rushed upstairs to brush her teeth, then outside to stand by the convertible. "C'mon, Scott! We're gonna be late!"

"School doesn't start for a half hour!" He shouted out the window.

"But I have something to do!"

"Is it finding Alvers?"

"…Yes…"

"Then you can wait."

"SCOTT!" He went away from the window and she kicked his tire. Man, if she knew how to drive, his car so wouldn't be here right now.

Inside, Cyclops was leisurely eating his Honey Nut Cheerios. Jean rolled her eyes at him. "Now you're just being cruel."

He swallowed after exactly twenty-five chews. "You're supposed to chew your food and not rush. It helps you digest better."

The bowl rose over his head, tipping to the side as the milk threatened to pour out. "I think you're done," she said pointedly.

He looked up at the ceramic basin, thinking how much it would hurt if she happened to let it fall on his head. "Yeah, I'm done."

Jean moved the bowl to the sink as Scott grabbed his back and called, "Kurt, Rogue! We're leaving if you want a ride!"

The blue boy had teleported himself and his sister outside. "Shot gun!" He appeared in the passenger's seat until Jean gave him a look.

"I don't think so," she waved a hand at him and he moved into the back seat between Kitty and Rogue.

"Nepotism, that's what that is!" He protested as Scott slipped in to the driver's seat.

"Yeah, well, she kisses me and you don't, so I think it's fair." Jean grinned and kissed him while Rogue gave them a look of disgust and rolled her eyes from the backseat.

The front door opened and they all turned to tell one of the new recruits that there was no room left in the car. Surprisingly, it was not one of the new recruits. It was Emma and she was wearing a very skimpy silver night gown that hung barely past her butt. "I just wanted to tell you all I hope you have a good day."

"Uh, well, uh, thank you," Scott managed to get out while Kurt just sat drooling. Even with the red glasses, the girls could tell that their leader wasn't thanking her to her face.

Kitty hit him on the head with her Pre-Cal book just as his girlfriend hit him on the arm. "Scott!"

"Ow! Hey, isn't it illegal to hit the driver?"

"You're not driving and that's the point!" Kitty told him. "Let's go!"

He waved to Emma one more time, then pulled out of the driveway. The ride to school was quiet, except for Kurt trying to convince Rogue not to tell Amanda about their house guest.

They pulled into the school parking lot and Kitty hopped out immediately, looking around for the Jeep. It wasn't there. Her face fell.

Jean got out of the convertible and slammed the door shut behind her. "Oh, by the way. You know the whole kissing you thing? You can forget that!"

"Awww, Jean! Jean!" He ran after her as Kitty sat on the trunk of the car to watch for Lance.

She waited until the bell rang, wondering if he didn't come because he was arrested again or in trouble or just didn't want to see her. Kurt tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around. "C'mon, Katzchen. We have to get to class. You know the Brotherhood, if they were ever on time the world would spontaneously combust."

Kitty smiled lightly. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

Four periods later, she walked to the Health room, almost scared to go in and not see him there. Luckily, that was not the case. Lance was sitting in his chair, playing with Callie.

"Hi!" She greeted him happily, grin almost splitting her face.

"Hey, Kitty," He stood up and hugged her quickly, surprising her with his affection.

"Where were you this morning? I waited for you in the parking lot…" She asked, taking her seat.

"I was on the other side of the school. You have Johnson first period, don't you?"

"Fifth," she corrected him. "But you waited over there for me? That's so sweet."

He shrugged, but took her hand and squeezed it. "No big deal…"

The final bell rang and Ms. Smith started class. "Hey, everyone. I hope you had a good weekend. Listen, I have a lot of work to do, so I'm sure you guys do too. So this is going to be a free day. Work on your marriage project or something for another class, just don't get too loud. Oh, and anyone who did spend time with their significant other this weekend and got it documented, please pass it up.

Kitty pulled her desk up next to his. "So, what work do we have to do?"

"You mean you haven't finished everything yet?" Lance asked with surprise.

"Well, not everything. But before I forget," she pulled out a time sheet and passed it up. "I got Professor X to document our time together."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, it just said we were at your house."

He ran a hand through his messy brown hair. "You're not in trouble, are you? Because if you are, I'm so sorry Kitty. I…I guess I'd understand if you don't want to go out anymore…"

"Lance, no! Of course not! Like, even if I was in trouble, I'd still want to go out with you. And I'm not! He believes in you, just like I do," she squeezed his hand encouragingly.

For a second, he grinned, then sighed. "I really wish we weren't at school."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because I really want to kiss you."

She blushed heavily. "Lance…"

The two of them got to work on the rest of their project, and she helped him with some of his math. Ten minutes before class was over, Ms. Smith came up to them. "Glad you two got some time to meet during the weekend. Can I see Callie?"

He handed her over and she did a quick check. "Wow, you were excellent with her. Only three minutes of crying, no mishandling or anything. Great job. You both would make excellent parents. Not that you should try now or anything."

Lance snapped his fingers in the 'aw, darn!' type of way. Ms. Smith rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair before going back to her desk and getting ready for the bell to ring. "Hey, are you doing anything important during lunch?" he asked Kitty.

"Not really. Just eating with my friends from the Institute. Why?"

"You wanna hang out with me for a while?"

Her eyes lit up. "Sure!"

The bell rang. "Great. Put your backpack in your locker and meet me by the janitor's closet, ok?"

"Sure." A few minutes later, after she let Kurt know she'd be a little late at the table, she was standing next to Lance. He grinned. "I have a surprise for you."

"Do you now? And where is this surprise?"

He jerked his thumb towards the closet. "In there."

"And how do you suppose we get in there?" She asked with a raise of her eyebrow. He just grinned wider. "Lance, no! No, no, no! We're at school, I can't use my powers!"

"As long as no one sees you, you can," he corrected, glancing up and down the hallway. "Do you see anyone?"

"No…"

"C'mon, Kitty, don't you want your surprise?"

She sighed. "Fine…It better be a totally awesome surprise though." Checking the corridor one last time, she took his hand and phased them into the closet. "Ok, where's this surprise?"

He took her face in his hands and kissed her hard. She responded immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck. Before letting his fingers get tangled in his hair, he released it from the ponytail holder. The silky brown locks fell to below her shoulders as his arms moved down to encircle her waist.

Kitty stepped back to regain her balance, foot rubbing against the mop bucket. Quickly, she pulled away. "Lance!"

"Yes?" With her lips too far away, he set to work on her neck.

"We can't do this. We're at school!" This didn't stop him from sucking lighting where her neck met her shoulder and she did her very best not to moan. "What if someone catches us?"

"No one'll catch us! I mean, no one could get in here except you, me, the elf, and anyone else we know that could break the door down." She looked at him with a puzzled expression so he explained, "You see, earlier the janitor dropped his keys and I just haven't had a chance to give them back yet."

"You stole the janitor's keys!"

"He dropped them!" Lance insisted.

"So why didn't you just use the keys to get us in here?"

"Because, my pretty Kitty, the door only locks from the outside. Besides, having you do your thing is a lot quicker than unlocking the door, then having you phase outside to unlock it." He kissed her nose lightly.

"I guess…" he recaptured her lips, enjoying her sigh against his.

"Lance…like, what if they have a spare key?"

"We'll just have to risk that, won't we? We could always phase someone else." His look became serious. "Kitty, I love you and you know that. But if I have to go another day without kissing you, I'll be more insane than Pietro and Wanda. Put together."

She sighed, and sucked on his bottom lip lightly. "And you said I was cliché."

He held her close to him, enjoying the sighs and purrs as he kissed her thoroughly, only letting them up for air when it was absolutely necessary. This continued for about five minutes, until they broke off to catch their breaths.

"I love you, Lance, but I should really get going. We wouldn't want my friends to come looking for me and find us here," she pointed out, giving him another desperate kiss.

"I guess…" They locked lips once more. "You know, you need to stop being so good at that."

She laughed and put her hair back in a ponytail before straightening her clothes. "You're not so bad yourself. Let's go." She phased back through the door into the hallway.

Lance blinked at the door in front of him. "Uh…"

She phased her top half back in, pecking his lips before pulling him out into the hallway too. "Just kidding."

For the rest of the day, Kitty was in an excellent mood. She practically skipped up the stairs when the car pulled up in the driveway, then to her room. Rogue kept giving her weird looks as she hummed and did her homework.

'Everyone, could you please meet me downstairs in the foyer,' Xavier requested telepathically.

In a minute or two, the residents of the Institute were waiting downstairs. "We have an announcement," Charles told them. "Miss Frost is going to stay here for a while, as well as her pupil. Everyone, meet Wing."

He gestured to a boy of about sixteen with dark red-orange hair and bright green eyes. Wing looked over at Kitty, smiling when he saw her. She grinned back.

Behind the Professor, Emma Frost's mind began calculating.

* * *

A/N: Astonishing X-men readers will know Wing (I'm not sure if he's in any other series). He's a great character in my opinion, though I hope he doesn't come back any time soon. At least I can use him here! 

Tons of Lancitty in this chapter, as well as Emma bashing. YAY EMMA BASHING! Plus, it was much longer than usual.

If you think I described Wing wrong, please forgive me. I'm working off a bad shot of him from the internet since Hilary has all my Astonishing X-men comics.

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review Responses: 

Bant: Peter broke up with her, then when she was with Pete Wisdom in Excalibur (what is with her and dating guys named Pete?) he wanted to get back together. I'm not even sure what Kit and Peter's relationship is now in the comics. I'm pretty sure they're together in Endsong, and on their way there in Astonishing. But Lancitty will always be my favorite with XME!

Laine-chan: I love your poetry! And yes, Scott deserves a nice kick in the crotch!

DOJ: Emma needs to die. That's all I have to say. And I rewatched Shadowdance about two days ago. It was sooo cute. Still, the pool scene will forever be my absolute favorite one in XME no matter what. I've watched it more times than I can could, I know the sfx by now.

Half-N-Half: Kitty wouldn't abandon her guys! And YES! There's someone else besides me who reads Astonishing X-men! I'm slowly converting all my friends (2 and counting!) So you must know Wing too. Astonishing X-men ROCKS! Thank you so much for reading.


	7. Studying Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution, Emma Frost or Wing. They are all property of Marvel.

* * *

"Well, I have some work to do. Why don't one of you show him around, and you can get to know each other?" Xavier requested before heading back to his office.

"Um, hey, Professor?" Kitty walked after him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Kitty. What is it?"

"Like, you know Lance and I are working on a Health project together, and he kind of needs some help with some other classes. So…can he come over tomorrow?" she asked quietly, pushing a lock of her bangs behind her ears. "I mean, we'll stay in my room and keep my door open and try not to bother anyone."

"That sounds fine. I'm very glad you're helping him," He smiled at her.

"Thank you so much!" She jogged back towards the stairs. "I promise to do my work too! In fact, I'll do it now!"

Later on, Kitty was in her room, realizing she'd been working for an hour. The door opened. "Hey, where's my lipglo--Oh, sorry." She told a confused Wing. "I thought you were Rogue."

"And I thought this was my room. Guess Scott meant his left. What are you working on?"

"Finishing up my homework. Honors classes give more work than I bargained for. So, did you, like, get the grand tour?" She asked, motioning for him to sit down.

"I think you could live here for five years and never see half of this place. It's huge. Miss Frost is still building the Academy. Apparently I came a bit early," he grinned. "So, what's your special power?"

His eyes widened as Kitty punched him. But instead of blackening his eye, her hand moved right through him. "Incorporeal tangibility. In laymen's terms, I can walk through walls and other solid things."

"Wow. That's cool. I can fly. Kinda where my nickname came from."

"I'm Kitty Pryde. Shadowcat. So, flying huh? That's totally awesome!" Her blue eyes lit up as she moved over to sit next to him at the foot of her bed. "I've never flown except in a plane. Tell me about it."

"Well, the first time I ever did it, I broke both of my legs," He explained, then waved it off as she gaped at him. "It's not that big of a deal. I completely recovered, but I'm one of those guys who learned the responsibility of their powers the hard way. After all my therapy and everything my parents heard of Miss Frost. I've been there for about two months."

"Man, that sucks. My powers have never done anything like that," she briefly remembered her first encounter with Wanda. "Well, it was never my fault at least. So, tell me about this…Miss Frost. Do you like it there?"

"It's lonely. I mean, I'm the only kid there, and Miss Frost and her adults are the only other people I ever see besides school. She's made a lot of progress with me though, so now I can control my powers," he smiled and winked at her. "Still, I think I'm going to enjoy being here with all of the pretty girls."

She blushed, almost not realizing when her cell phone rang. "Just a sec," she told him, then picked up. "Hello? Oh, hey, Lance! Yeah, the Professor said you could come over tomorrow. Don't worry about Scott, I'll make sure Jean takes care of him. Ok, ok. I love you too. See you tomorrow. Bye."

"Who was that?" Her guest asked.

"My boyfriend, Lance. He's coming over tomorrow."

"Oh…I didn't know you were dating anyone," Wing was about to ask something when Miss Frost knocked on the door.

"Storm wanted me to tell you that since a lot of people are going out today, it's leftovers or sandwiches for dinner and you're old enough to make it yourself. If you'd like, I can get something for you," Frost offered.

"No thank you, ma'am," Kitty told her coldly. "You'd probably just bring me a ham and bacon sandwich."

"Hey, that sounds good," Wing blinked. "I'll have one of those. You sure you don't want one?"

She fixed him with a glare. "I'm a vegetarian and I'm Jewish."

"…Oh…Right then. Peanut butter and jelly good?" He offered, making her smile.

"That sounds good. Want me to phase us downstairs so you can experience it?" She grinned. "And you can fly us back up."

"I need to speak with him for a minute, if you don't mind," Emma explained with a sugary sweet voice.

Kitty rolled her eyes in disgust before phasing through the floor. "Whatever…"

He turned towards his mentor. "So?"

"What do you think of the Pryde girl?"

"She's great," He grinned. "Full of spunk, and she's nice and definitely pretty. I like her."

"Good. Now, just make sure she likes you too," Emma sashayed down the hallway, in the opposite direction of the stairs.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

Emma smiled innocently. "Miss Grey had to stay at school to finish a project. I'm going to go make sure Mr. Summers isn't lonely."

* * *

"Ok, Lance, now all you have to do is pull in the driveway," Kitty instructed the next day after school. "Just turn the steering wheel, put your foot on the gas…" 

"I know!" He insisted with a glare. "But are you sure this is ok? It's not at trick?"

"Why would I trick you? I don't go to jail for people I don't love, Alvers!" Kitty glared at him. "And yes, I'm positive that it was the Professor and not Mystique. Now let's go!"

He kissed her gently. "You're cute when you're mad." The Jeep turned into the driveway of the Institute.

Kitty grabbed her bag and hopped out. "The next step is turning the car off and getting out."

"Oh, you're so funny," he rolled his eyes, but turned the key of the jeep and took it out.

"Why are you stalling? I know you don't want to do work but Rogue has extra lessons with the Professor today so we can study in my room. Alone. Just the two of us."

Lance wrapped an arm around her waist. "Miss Pryde, are you seducing me?"

She laughed loudly. "As if. Especially since, if you look in the window, you'll see Scott glaring at us."

Lance looked over to the window and groaned. "Doesn't he ever give up?" He grabbed Kitty's face lightly, and kissed her, then waved to the pissed off senior.

"If you're going to kiss me, don't do it to piss off Scott, please," She requested, dragging him into the house.

"Yes, dear, sorry, dear," He answered, earning him an elbow in the stomach.

Scott met them in the foyer. "What are you doing here, Alvers?"

"I'm spending time with my girlfriend. Why don't you do the same, unless she's finally wizened up and left you for someone without a stick in their ass," Lance smirked.

"Why you--!" Scott reached for his sunglasses without thinking.

"What are you gonna do?" He snorted, reaching over to tap on the shades. "Beam me up, Scotty?"

"Lance, cut it out!" Kitty insisted. "Let's go do our homework. I'll see you later, Scott." She dragged her boyfriend upstairs, trying not to let the giggle escape from her mouth. "You need to stop antagonizing him, ya know."

"That takes all the fun out of it."

She raised an eyebrow at him as she opened the door to her room. "All the fun?"

He sat on her bed, pulling her into her lap and kissing her again. "Well, not all the fun..."

She melted in to his embrace for a few minutes before getting her head back. "Ok, ok, we have work to do."

"I don't understand why I have to take government. I don't plan on being part of those idiots and they ain't never done nothin' good for me," Lance grumbled, staring at the cover of the textbook before tossing it aside.

She sighed and picked it up before sitting next to him. "I know you've had it rough when it comes to them, but we are one of their primary concerns right now. We need to understand how they work, what their thoughts are," She bit her lip, as he still seemed bored. "Let's put it this way. It's like stumbling into a fight without knowing your opponent. I mean, if you hadn't ever heard anything about Scott before and you started to fight, he'd have a huge advantage with his optic beams."

"What you're saying is, if I don't know about this when I try to go against them with their anti-mutant crap, I'm screwed?"

"More or less," she grinned. "Not that I condone going against the government."

"See, you should be my teacher. You understand me, why doesn't anyone else try to do that? I'm not a hopeless cause…am I?"

"God, of course not!" She kissed him, hoping to bring some light back into those darkened eyes. "You're one of the smartest people I know. You're just not book smart, like me. But trust me, it's not much better."

"Are you serious? I'd kill to have your brains. I love watching you figure stuff out," he brushed a lock of her hair back. "In chemistry, when you're pouring over those equations and breezing through them…Well, it's sexy."

A blush formed over her cheeks. "No one back in Northbrook thought so. Remember when we met? I didn't just hang out in my locker for fun."

"Yeah, well, what's-her-face was an idiot. Everyone there was to not realize how sweet, and pretty, and smart, and wonderful you are…" He kissed her again gently.

"Lance…" She leaned into the lip lock, shivering in delight as his hands caressed her back. Her hands dug into his messy hair, using it as an anchor for her to deepen the kiss. Lightly, he rolled them over so she was comfortably lying on her bed.

"Kitty," he whispered into her ear. His hot breath caused her to moan lightly as he moved lower, kissing her neck. Lance loved her purrs of delight as their rumbled through her chest.

Unfortunately, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Damn…" He cursed. "If it's Summers, I swear I'll…"

Kitty gently pushed him off of her. "Come in."

An orange head poked through and Wing asked, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes," Lance replied bluntly.

"Course not, come on in. Lance, this is Wing, he's going to stay with us for a while with his school's headmistress. Wing, this is my boyfriend Lance. I told you about him last night."

Lance smiled righteously. "That's right, I'm her boyfriend."

The other man smiled at Kitty. "You're a lucky guy," He assured the Brotherhood member as they shook hands, wincing for a moment as Lance gripped harder than necessary.

"I know."

"Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Kitty asked, trying to break the tension.

"I got some of the books we were talking about yesterday from the library," He explained.

"Great! I still can't believe you never read Homer in school," she rolled her eyes. "I'm a little busy right now, but if you want my computer has a lot of notes on the houses and other mythological stuff, so I can totally help you out if you get stuck. Epic poems and fantasy stuff is kind of a guilty pleasure for me."

Lance ground his teeth. She had never told him that.

"Awesome. I'll see you later then. I heard you liked ice cream, so I picked some up when I was out. I'll treat you to one of my famous sundaes. Nice to meet you, Lance," He waved, then let himself out.

"I don't like him," Avalanche told his girlfriend.

"Did you like hit your head when I wasn't watching?"

"Did you see the way he was looking at you?" He insisted.

"Wing is a friend, Lance. Just like Scott and Kurt and Bobby and the other guys," She assured him.

"I'm still not sure about the blue boy, but I know Scott and Bobby don't look at you the way that guy does," He grumbled, still glaring at the door.

"He's new in a huge house with a lot of people. All he really wants is a friend, someone to connect to and hang out with," She kissed him lightly. "Even if he did like me—and he doesn't—I have you. I wouldn't cheat on you, Lance. It's a very stupid thing to attempt when you live with three superior telepaths."

"Three?"

"Yeah. Wing's mentor, Miss Frost," She said with disgust.

"Don't like her?"

"No one here does except the guys," She grumbled. "Anyway, let's get our work done. I promised the Professor we would get something done. And then we can explore recreational activities."

He grinned. "I like the sound of that."

Two hours later, they had finished everyone and were snuggling on Kitty's bed. She loved the smell of his vest. It was comforting and strong, worn leather. His scent made her feel happy and comforted.

"Have I mentioned I love you?" She murmured against his chest.

"Always nice to hear. And I love you too," he leaned down and kissed her again.

The door opened as she kissed back, and Kitty bit back a groan. "Hey, Rogue."

"Well, if it ain't Romeo and Juliet," Rogue mused. "Sorry, but Ah'm taking my side of the room back and Ah really don't wanna watch ya'll make out."

"Then don't watch," Lance said simply, but Kitty shook her head. "Um…actually, it's getting pretty late. Maybe I should go?"

His girlfriend answered with a nod. "We're going to be having dinner soon, and I don't think you and Scott killing each other would make the Professor very happy."

"If ya wants to kill Miss Frost instead, go ahead," Rogue grumbled from her bed. "Stupid witch."

"What'd she say?" Kitty asked with anxious concern.

"Nothing that Ah can repeat without ripping her stupid head off. When is she leavin' again?"

She sighed. "Not soon enough. C'mon, Lance, I'll walk you down."

"Kay. See you around, Rouge," He nodded to his former teammate.

"Bye."

The couple walked downstairs hand in hand, and when they reached the landing, he saw her. "Oh, holy shit."

Emma Frost stood there wearing less than she usually did, in a tight white shirt and a piece of cloth that she apparently thought counted as a skirt in some place on earth. "Hi, Kitty. This must be your guest, Lance Alvers."

She glared. "Yeah, this is my boyfriend. He has to leave now though."

"Don't be rude, I can stay and meet her," He grinned. "You know who I am, but you are…?"

"Emma Frost. Fantastic to finally meet you. I heard around that you were handsome, but I don't think they give you nearly as much credit as you deserve," She purred.

Kitty could practically see Lance's head swelling. "That's nice but he has to go. Now." She pulled him through the door, barely giving him the chance for a swift farewell.

Through the glass doors, Emma watched the girl glare at her boyfriend for a minute, before they kissed and made up. "Enjoy this, girl," She whispered coldly as Lance drove away. "I promise you won't have it for long."

* * *

A/N: Emma's totally the type of person to hit on high school guys. Man she sucks. But I enjoyed writing the Lancitty goodness in this chapter. Next chapter: Wing goes to Bayville and Lance hates his guts. 

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review Responses: 

True Romantic: That scene in Ascension made me cheer. We all knew the Brotherhood couldn't let their favorite girls get their butts kicked. After they walked away together it was so sweet. I'm glad you like my story!

El Diablo: This fic wouldn't work without the Lancitty. Thanks for reading!

Jenskott: Ah, I haven't posted it yet. It's about ¾ done, but I'm not sure if it would fit in the X-men fanfiction section since I'm using my version of Rachel and not the comic version (they're the same person, just some differences). I'm trying not to bash so much as show that she's just a bitch by nature, but sometimes my hatred just shows through. Jean will get her revenge eventually, but if my boyfriend started ogling another woman like that, he'd get his ass kicked. I actually bought Astonishing after reading the first few pages and realizing it was about Kitty. I didn't even know Jean was dead, let alone that Scott was with that. If it didn't have such an awesome plot I'd stop reading it. Now I just have to sit back and wait for Jean to come back and put Emma in her place.

Asia1st: Thank you!

DOJ: Yes, man I hate Emma. Even Phoenix: Endsong (which is supposed to be about Jean) is now focusing on her. Stupid writers better redeem themselves in the last comic or they're gonna get some pretty nasty flames from me. I'm pretty sure Wing is only from Astonishing X-men, and he's dead now. I just like his character.

Tribegirl: I'm happy you like it. I hope you keep reading.


	8. A Lover's Kiss

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution, Emma Frost or Wing. They are all property of Marvel.

* * *

Jean stared at her young friend as the brunette practically skipped through the hallway. "What are you so happy about?" 

"It's fourth period," Kitty grinned. When the redhead continued to stare back at her, she explained, "Health class. With Lance."

"Ah, I see. Well, I have English, so I'll see you at lunch, ok?"

"Ok, see you later, Jean," Kitty opened the door to the classroom and threw her arms around Lance's neck, pecking him on the cheek. "Hey there!"

He squeezed her hand. "Hi, Kitty. How're you?"

"Just fine. And you?"

"Better now that you're here. You know, when I turned my homework in earlier, my teacher almost fainted. That was fun," He smirked.

"I'm going to take that as a 'Thank you for helping me, my girlfriend who is the smartest, prettiest girl in the world,'" She told him.

Lance leaned over the aisle between the desks to kiss her lightly. "Right, that's what I meant."

"I'm sure you did."

Ms. Smith sat on her desk in the front of the class. "Well, by now I hope everyone has done some work on their marriage projects. So we're going to be discussing marriages today. Raise your hand if your parents are married."

She scanned the classroom as a handful of students, including Kitty, raised their hands. "Alright, let's see…Alvers, what do marriages mean to you?"

"Huh?" He looked up from where he was staring at his desk. "Well…I guess when I think of marriages, I think of two people in love. And not just regular love. You should only get married if it's true, real love. The kind of love that makes you know that you want to start a family together and arguments over the in laws or the bills or whatever isn't going to tear you apart. Know what I mean?"

Kitty blinked at her boyfriend as Ms. Smith nodded slowly, "I do, Lance. Anyone agree? Disagree?"

She raised her hand and waited to be called on. "Well, my parents have always been happily married. I think one of the reasons is that they've been friends since like high school or something." Kitty glanced quickly at Lance, then continued, "When they fight, sometimes they pretend they're not married and work it out like they did when they were our age, because friendship is what lead them to the great life they have, and if you can't work it out as just friends, then how is their marriage supposed to work"?"

"A very good point. While some people prefer to abstain from dating friends or people close to them, it often leads to great relationships because you do know each other," Ms. Smith went on. "On the other hand, there are those who do not take such risks at the chance of hurting a valuable friend. Carrie, what do you think of that?"

As the discussion moved on, Kitty pulled out a strip of paper and wrote: _So what do we have, Mr. Alvers? Just the regular love?_ She added a smiley face sticking its tongue out and tossed it on to his desk.

He scanned it before quickly writing back, and handing it to her. _Whatever I say, you promise you won't think it's a proposal?_

She rolled her eyes, nodding at him before crumpling it up a bit and hitting him in the head with it when the teacher wasn't looking. Lance grinned before penning his response and sliding it back on her desk.

_I don't think there's any truer love than ours in the world. I love you, pretty Kitty._ She read, feeling her heart melt. "I love you too," she mouthed back at him, smoothing the paper and sliding it behind the transparent plastic cover of her binder so she could look at it whenever she wanted.

They had a quiz on facts and opinions of marriage for the rest of class. As Kitty passed her sheet up, the bell rang. "Lunch time," She grinned.

Lance sighed, sitting on the edge of his desk. "I never thought the day would come when I didn't like lunch."

"Lance Alvers doesn't like lunch? Oh, my look at the periwinkle pigs flying through the air. And has hell frozen over?" She teased.

"Only if Bobby was there," He smiled lightly. "I just don't like having to watch my girlfriend all the way at the other side of the cafeteria when I could be sitting with her and have my mouth busy with something other than eating."

She grabbed the collar of his vest, pulling his head down to kiss her hard for a minute. "Then let's do it."

"Do it? Do…what?"

"C'mon," she took his hand and they quickly moved through the line to get their lunches. He started to pull away as they walked into the lunch room, but she held him back, scanning the area. There were the tables that everyone used every day: the jock table, the brain table, the X-men table, the Brotherhood table, etc, etc. But, in the back there were the free tables, for when someone needed an extra chair or a project had to be set up between classes. "There."

"Huh? There where? Kitty!" He called as she marched past the table Scott and Jean were at to the back. He watched as she set her tray down at one of the empty tables and sat down. "What are you doing?"

"I'm having lunch with my boyfriend," She frowned. "Or I would be if you'd sit down."

He sat. "But…what if Summers freaks out?"

"Let him freak out all he wants! Or do you want Scott being the one ruling our relationship?" She insisted, taking a bite of her apple.

"You're right. I just don't want to get you in trouble," He told her, squeezing ketchup on to his plate.

"That's sweet of you, but I can totally handle Scott Summers," She kissed him lightly. "It's nice to know you care, though."

He kissed her back and they were only interrupted by the clearing of a throat behind them. "Is this a private party or can anyone join?" Rogue raised an eyebrow. "Kitty, what are you doin'?"

"Like, having lunch with my boyfriend. And, ya know, if my roommate joined, that would totally make it even more awesome," She smiled at Rogue, gesturing to the empty chairs around the table.

She slowly sat down on the other side of the circular table. "Alright then. So, how ya doin', Lance?"

"I'm ok. Hey, how'd you do on Beckner's pop quiz?"

Rogue groaned. "Ah think Ah totally tanked it. What about you?"

"Actually, I think I did ok," he told her with a mouth full of hamburger. "Kitty studied with me last night and she really gets all this stuff."

"Ok, how does my roommate who is a grade lower than me get this stuff better than Ah do?" She demanded as she peeled her orange.

Kitty shrugged. "I'm like a genius, remember?"

She blinked. "It really doesn't show."

"Hey!" Kitty kicked her under the table, but laughed it off. Being teased about not acting like a genius was a lot better than being shoved in your locker because of it.

"Hey, girls—and Lance—can we eat with you?" The trio looked up to see Amara and Tabitha with their trays. Kitty figured there couldn't be a more perfect match—Tabitha, who had been once a Brotherhood member and an X-man, was completely neutral and Amara was the sweetest kid alive who had gotten along really well with Lance during his brief stay at the Institute. Plus, she wasn't on his list of "Reckless idiots that I can't help but like anyway."

"Sure," Rogue scoot over a bit so they could take the two empty seats between her and Lance.

"So, how are things with the Brotherhood?" Tabitha asked, crunching on a bag of chips.

"Actually, I'm sure we'd welcome you back instead of Wanda—'cept maybe Toad, he's in love with her. You may be a crazy, but you don't have anything on her anger management issues," Lance sighed. "The fact that Pietro can be looked at as the sane twin is scary."

"Neither of them is sane," Kitty argued. "They have Magneto as a father, the mutant gene must have taken the place of the sanity gene."

The table laughed as Kurt ran up to Kitty and tapped her shoulder. "Hey, can I borrow your science notes?"

"They're in my locker," she told him. "Aren't you going to get lunch?"

"I've got a major science project to finish with Amanda and Pete," he explained as she wrote down her combination. "Uh…what are you guys doing anyway?"

"I'm having lunch with my boyfriend and my friends," She told him pointedly as she slipped the scrap of paper into his hand.

"Uh…right. Amanda and I'll join you tomorrow, but I really have to go now! Bye!" He ran outside the cafeteria and they could have sworn they heard a BAMF!

"If Kurt's not going to use that, can I?" Wing asked, pointing to the last empty chair of the table.

To her side, Lance tensed up. "Of course," Kitty kicked her boyfriend lightly. "Have a seat."

He slid in between Kitty and Rogue. "Thanks."

"So, how was your first day?" Tabby wondered, eating her tater tots and stealing Lance's ketchup.

"Everyone's really nice. The food isn't bad and I hardly have any homework," He opened up his milk carton. "All in all, I'd call this a good day."

"I remember my first day," Amara reminisced with a grin.

Tabitha laughed. "Oh, yes, that was a good day." The other girls joined with the giggles, remembering the days that had followed. "Have I mentioned I miss your Jeep, Lance?"

As this sent the females into peals of laughter again, Wing raised an eyebrow at Lance. "Ever get the feeling you're missing something?"

Lance just shrugged and went back to eating his burger, letting Kitty steal his tater tots without complaint. She kissed him lightly, then laid her head on his shoulder, noting to herself that her boyfriend wasn't adding much to the conversation.

After the last bell, she met him by the Jeep. "You wanna drive me home?" She offered.

"Of course. Hop in." He pulled out of the driveway and started towards the Institute.

"Do you have time to come in and study like yesterday? I'm glad our little session helped you on your quiz."

"Love to, but I can't," Lance sighed. "Actually…I have a job interview."

"A job interview?" She blinked. "Where? It's not going to affect your education, is it? Because if it is, I think-"

He silenced her with a quick kiss. "It's at a garage. After school and on weekends I'll be fixing cars part time. Plus, I get any parts I need for the Jeep free if we have 'em and I'll get a chance to learn more than I already do."

"Oh," She whispered. "But…but what about us?"

"Hey, even if I do start, it won't be till after the break. And I'll make sure they know I have a girlfriend I love and can't possibly stay away from."

Kitty grinned, kissing him hard as he stopped in front of the gate of the Institute. "That makes me feel better. Thanks for the ride, I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

"'Kay. I love you, Kit."

"I love you too, Lance."

"Scott's looking for you," was the first thing Jamie said to her as she came in the front door.

"What's new?" she sighed. "Know where I can find our fearless leader?"

"I think he's upstairs in his room. He said he'd be down in a few minutes to play video games with me though," He grinned recklessly at her. "Though he may be taking his time because he doesn't want me to beat him again."

She laughed, ruffling his hair. "I'll go find him. Thanks, Jamie!" Kitty walked up the stairs, putting her stuff in her room before continuing down the hallways to Scott's. Sticking her head in his room to call for him, she found that she was too shocked by the display in his room to speak.

He had backed against the wall, eyes behind his glasses wide in shock as Miss Frost stood very close to him, grinning like the cat who caught the canary. It was obvious that no one had seen her, as the woman purred, "You know, I was never interested in younger men until I met you, Scott…"

"Um…is that so…" He muttered, gulping as her hand worked its way lightly over his chest.

"Mmmhmm…You're so unlike all the other men I've met. Honest…kind…gentle…brave. You have so many good qualities that you should share. With everyone." She glanced up at him through heavy lashes.

"Miss Frost, I really think we should-" Scott attempted to walk away, but she put a finger to his mouth, before removing it and covering it with her own painted lips.

He stood frozen for a minute, letting the kiss deepen slowly. After he felt her press against him, his hands were at her shoulders, pushing her away. "Jean!"

Emma pouted momentarily, before leaning against him, lips brushing his skin as she whispered in his ear, "I think you know what I want." She kissed his neck lightly before walking back towards his door. "And you'll soon learn that I always get what I want."

Kitty phased into the next room so as not to be seen. When she was sure Emma had descended down the stairs, she peeked out, watching as Scott stood stock still in his room, mouth open in shock.

She made her way back to the room and sat on her bed. "I can't believe it," she whispered to herself. "Scott? But he's…" She sighed, leaning back against her head board. _To be fair, _she told herself. _She kissed him. He even pushed her away…after his sense came back to him. I can't tell Jean. It'll crush her. _

Her bedroom door opened, revealing Rogue, Amara and—to her ultimate disappointment—Jean. "We come baring gifts!" Rogue grinned, settling on her bed.

"Food of the gods," Amara laughed, sitting on the foot of Kitty's bed as Jean took the desk chair.

"Chocolate?" Kitty guessed.

"Even better," Jean described, holding out a bag for her. "Ice cream. We got about five different flavors."

"Awesome!" She grinned, stealing the quart of chocolate chip cookie dough and a spoon. "What's the occasion?"

"We're celebrating how much we hate that Miss Frost," Rogue grumbled.

"Here here!" Amara agreed, holding up her spoon in a toast. "I mean, can you believe those outfits? We used to wear togas in Nova Roma and I've still never seen a person bear that much skin while not wearing a bathing suit."

"The worst part is the guys," Jean sighed. "Even Scott. I just don't know what to think about him anymore."

"Well, it's not like he's never been one to resist temptation before…" Kitty muttered into her ice cream.

"What do you mean?" Jean frowned.

"Remember when he first met Alex? He joined with Magneto, like, right away just to be with him. It was totally against all his values and everything," She pointed out. "And I didn't even think I had to mention Taryn. Not exactly the best at saying no."

Concern lit her friend's green eyes. "But…we weren't dating then…"

"Scott's too good for that," Amara piped up. "You know him, he'd never cheat on you, Jean. Plus, what respectable 20-something-year-old woman goes for a high schooler?"

She smiled lightly. "You're right, Amara. I'm worried over nothing. Right, Kitty?"

Shadowcat forced a smile. "Right. I don't even know what I was saying. Sorry for making you worry."

Rogue glanced over at her roommate. She knew Kitty better than that. "Want some Rocky Road?" She offered her, mouthing 'What are you going on about?'

'I'll tell you later,' Kitty mouthed back. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks."

The other girls stayed for almost an hour and a half before realizing they had homework as well. After the door closed behind them, Rogue put down her math book. "Ok, spill."

"Well…Jamie said Scott wanted to talk to me, so I went up to his room and I saw him with Miss Frost. She had, like, practically pinned him against the wall. And then they kissed," Kitty explained with a sigh.

"No way! Are ya sure ya saw it right?" Rogue's eyes were huge at the scandal.

"Yeah, I'm sure. She's really the one that kissed him, but it took him more than a second to pull away. Rogue, what do I do?" She ate her cookie dough, hoping it would cancel out all her troubles. "It would kill Jean!"

Her roommate nodded in understanding. "Just keep your eyes open. If he does anything else…"

"I know. I have to tell her," Kitty sighed again.

"It's not like it'll take her too long to figure out anyway," Rogue shrugged, coming over to sit on the Kitty's bed with her. "How long can you keep somethin' like this from a telepath?"

"You're right. I just don't want to be the one to break the bad news to her, ya know?" She leaned against her friend.

The older girl wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I think I merely disliked Frost before. Now I hate her."

"Me too, Rogue. Me too."

* * *

A/N: And the utter loathsomeness we feel for Emma just reached another level! Sorry for the late update, it's just been really painful and uncomfortable lately, but I made myself finish the chapter tonight! 

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Boys Day, and AMASD to everyone! Ask in a review if you want to know what AMASD is. I warn you ahead of time that males will probably not appreciate it, but it holds truer than ever this year.

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review Responses: 

DOJ: Well, we have to remember with all her plastic "charms" comes some mutant "charms." And there's nothing wrong with wanting to tear her head off, it's quite enjoyable after you get used to it.

TrueRomantic: Oh, all the girls want to get Emma. I mean, I know I would. She'd have been on my hit list since day one. Thanks for reading!

Iamhollywood: I enjoy writing the animosity between Wing and Lance. The next chapter is going to be fun for me…

El Diablo: Yes, I love the Lancitty too. Not too much in this chapter though. Hmmm…I think I'll try to add more next time. Glad you enjoy it!

Starrydreamz: Sorry for the long update, I'm usually a lot quicker than this (working on two other chapter fics and a few other oneshots at the same time doesn't help though. Damn my muse for giving me so many ideas). I'm really glad you're enjoying it so much, thank you for reading!

Paula22: I don't think Lance is the main focus on Emma's mind anymore. Though I don't think Jean would be too happy with that, either. Thank you for reading!

Persian85033: Did your hate for Emma go up another level? I know mine did. I just can't make myself hate Wing though, probably since I rescued him from the depths of the Marvel archives of Killing Off Cool Characters That Got the Short End of the Stick, with Illyana. Thanks for reading and Reviewing!

Jenskott: Jean deserves to kill Emma, bring her back to life, and then kill her again in a more painful way. Then beat Scott for being an idiot and get back together to be the happy family the Summers clan is supposed to be with Rach and Nathan. Unfortunately, the comic book writers don't feel like making our dreams come true any time soon. Sigh…

Larg0: Thank you so much for all the compliments! I'm so happy you're liking this and I hope you'll keep reading!


	9. Fight

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution, any of its characters, Emma Frost or Wing. They are all property of Marvel.

* * *

"You should just tell her," Rogue said for the twentieth time. 

"I know, I know," Kitty sighed as they walked down the stairs towards the dining room. "I'm just…waiting for the right time. It's like, really not something you can say in passing, ya know?"

"Ah guess. But…just…don't take to long, ok? Ah mean, if Ah was in her position, Ah'd want you to tell me."

"I'll keep that in mind," she muttered lightly. "Let's not talk about this during breakfast though, k?"

"Obviously," her roommate answered with an eye roll, taking her seat at the table while Kitty walked to the other side, as far away from Jean as possible.

Kitty managed to smile at the waffles placed in front of her already smothered in butter and syrup from Vermont. She cut them slowly, and brought the small pieces to her mouth. They tasted exactly like…well, like she had made them, and she was sure that it wasn't Ororo's fault. Apparently, keeping a huge secret from one of your best friends made you nauseas no matter what you were eating.

Knowing that if she even thought of putting another piece into her mouth that she'd be sick, she simply cut them up some more and pushed it around her plate. At least that looked like she'd eaten something. "Hey, Kurt?" She got her friends attention from across the table. "I'm not really hungry, you want the rest of my waffles?"

"Sure, Katzchen!" He held out his plate and she pushed it across with her fork. "You sure you don't want them, though?"

"Positive." She sipped her milk lightly until Amara whispered in her ear, "I just lost my appetite too."

Miss Frost came in, pouring herself a cup of coffee as she smiled at everyone. "Good morning. Isn't it nice out?"

"Actually, it's rather overcast," Jean grumbled.

Scott stood up so suddenly that his chair almost flipped over. "I'll be waiting in the car for anyone who wants a ride. Thanks for breakfast," he smiled at Ororo before pushing towards the front door.

"At least he's trying," Kitty mumbled to herself. "I'll see you later, Amara." She got up and followed him outside, staring at the floor. It was too hard to try to meet anyone's eyes. _Am I such a goody-two-shoes that I can't even keep one secret from my friends without freaking? _

She sat in the backseat and was glad Scott didn't try to strike up some sort of conversation. He seemed lost in his own world and Kitty realized that they were probably pondering the same thing: Jean. What he'd done to her and how she didn't tell her. They sat in silence until the rest of the group joined them and they drove to Bayville High.

There was no jeep in the parking lot and Kitty realized that there was little chance Lance would have come that early. She wished that he was there; anything to distract her would help at the moment. By the way Rogue glanced at her, it seemed she'd visibly flinched when Jean gave Scott a kiss before hurrying to class.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. If the teachers cared about her like they had before the revelation that she was a mutant, they would have asked her what was wrong. She didn't write a single note, raise her hand to answer a single question and she almost forgot to pass her homework up once.

Most of the time she stared out the window, and not even to ogle the track team. Over and over again she ran the scene from yesterday through her brain. Emma kissed him. Maybe it was shock, but he didn't push her away immediately. Scott loved Jean though. He'd never want to hurt her. Miss Frost, however, was a different story.

There was so much going through her head right now and she wasn't sure how to sort it out. Jean really should know. How to tell her was a different story. _Hey, Jean, by the way, your boyfriend is cheating on you with the biggest slut on the face of the planet. Just thought you'd like to know. _She sighed. Yeah, right, that was gonna happen.

Kitty didn't even realize third period was over and she had walked to fourth. Routine was a good thing; she was able to go through the day without as much as a thought to it. But fourth period was an unusual jolt in the routine.

"Kitty? Kitty!"

"Huh?" She glanced up at Lance, who stood next to her desk looking annoyed. "Oh, hey."

"I've been calling you for three minutes. Something wrong?"

"Just…got something on my mind, that's all. How'd your interview go?" She smiled at him, glad she'd remembered with everything else going on.

"Really good. I think I may have got the job."

"That's awesome!" She leaned over and kissed him. "How about we go out tomorrow night and celebrate, on me."

"I may not have the job. We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves," He grinned at her. "But I think it'll be ok. Pick you up at seven tomorrow night?"

"That sounds great." She squeezed his hand again, thankful that one class could keep her attention off the Jean-Scott-Emma matter.

"Alright, for the first part of class today," Mrs. Smith began, "We'll be working on our projects. I have the list of guidelines for your presentations. You and your partner can go over them together and ask me if you have any questions."

Lance scanned the sheet. "Well, it says we'll have to be ready to answer any questions about our family based on our packet, the more detailed the better. The class is going to vote on who they think makes the best couple. Of course, no voting for yourself. Well, we have that covered."

"What makes you say that?" she asked absent-mindedly, flipping through her science book to see what she'd missed in her last class.

"Because we're the only ones who can do this and mean it," He leaned over and kissed her cheek as close to her lips as possible with her face pointed towards the text book.

She returned it lightly. "You're right. But that doesn't mean they'll vote for us."

"You're starting to sound like Rogue. Or Wanda. Or any of our other pessimistic friends. Something up?"

"Just something I have to solve myself. Hopefully I'll do it tonight if I don't lose my nerve." She forced another smile before turning her attention back to the assignment. "So, what else is on here…Extra credit."

"You can dress up or bring something from your assigned careers," Lance read, eyes lighting up. "Hey, if I demolish the school, does that count? I think Principal Kelly would be glad to know I've taken an interest in my studies."

"Yeah, right. But I could bake something! That would be fun!" She grinned, going through recipes in her head.

Most of the color drained from Lance's face; they'd never win if she poisoned everyone. He remembered the Muffin Fiasco. It was probably the only time he, Summers and the blue dude had ever agreed on anything. "Um, well, you're busy. I have to go shopping anyway, I'll just pick up some cookies from the bakery."

"Well…if you insist. I guess you're right, there's so much going on at the Institute right now I doubt I'd even be able to get the kitchen to myself. Thanks, Lance. At least let me pay for it, though," she reached in her purse for some of the allowance her parents had sent her.

"You don't have to do that," he protested, staring at the bills she held out to him.

"You guys have enough on your plate without having to pay for my stuff too. Now, either take it or I'm paying for our next five dates."

Money problems or no, Lance wasn't about to let her be the guy in the relationship. "Fine…"

The teacher had approached the front of the classroom during their brief argument. "Sorry, I forgot something. The school wanted you all to take these surveys. They shouldn't be too long and don't put your names on them, it's supposed to be confidential. Be honest. After you're done, you can resume working."

A low groan went through the students, but they started once the papers were passed back. Kitty wasn't sure how to answer: Do you feel safe at Bayville High School? Why or why not? She pondered a second before writing out her answer. _I feel somewhat safe. The only time when I feel my security is threatened is when stupid football players decide that picking on someone smaller than them is their spring sport. _

She continued the questions in this fashion. Most of them were general issues. Is there something we can do to benefit the school? What is your opinion on school food? What do you think your class's budget should be spent on? The only bump in her steady flow came with the last question. What do you think of the mutant menace?

Her feelings were a toss up of hurt and anger. The pencil marks made in the paper were significantly deeper, as she wrote out her response. _I think nothing, as this school has no mutant "menace." By calling it such, you are insinuating that mutants are an open threat; a danger that can not be controlled. This is untrue. Pencils can be used as weapons if the user so wishes, but we still allow them in schools. Mutants are no different and should be treated like any other student. Saying that mutants are a menace is being antagonistic and provoking them to do harm. Apparently the history you presume to teach at Bayville isn't connecting to the students or their faculty: the persecution of mutants resembles that of African-American slaves and Jews during the time of the Holocaust. We should want our high school to be remembered for bright, helpful students, not for the training of a new form of Nazis. _

Next to her, Lance was writing just as furiously. His brows were knitted together as he plowed through the questionnaire. She could practically hear his teeth grinding together, furious at whoever had written that up. Most likely, it had been Principal Kelly, and his feelings towards the man were already less than friendly.

Cautiously, she reached over and stroked his left hand, which held on to the edge of the desk, knuckles white with fury. He glanced over sharply, relaxing at the love he saw in her blue eyes. Picking up her hand, he gave it a gentle kiss before finishing up the work.

A few minutes later the bell rang and they were free to go. "Ready for lunch?" he asked, making himself smile as she packed her bag and passed her sheet up.

"Actually, I have to return a book to the library. Will you save our table?" she requested, pulling the offending novel out of her backpack.

"I can go with you."

"It's no big deal. Go get something to eat," she kissed him lightly before exiting the classroom with the rest of the flow of students. "See you in a few!"

She pushed past the throngs of students to get to the library and return her book. Someone tapped her on her shoulder lightly, and she turned around, preparing for the worst.

It was Rogue. "Hey, there."

"Oh, it's you. What are you doing here?" Kitty asked, fixing her backpack.

"Returning the book Ah got for our history project. Ya shoulda told me ya had somethin' to return. My fourth period class is right next door, Ah woulda done it for ya," she explained.

"That's nice of you. I'll keep that in mind. Wanna cut across the courtyard to go get lunch?" she held the door open for her roommate and they went out the large doors to their left.

Rogue was trying not to laugh as Kitty explained that she would get extra credit if she dressed up like a baker and brought in cookies for her marriage project, until she spotted a large group of students in the middle of the quad. "Oh, this is just our luck."

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" they were shouting. At the edge of the fray, Bobby suddenly saw them and ran over. "Hey, Kitty, I think you should get over there."

"Huh? Why do I care?"

"Because that's your boyfriend and Wing."

"What!" She grabbed his arm and ran towards the fight, pushing through the students. "MOVE IT!" she screamed, slamming her elbow into someone's stomach. She reached the center, where it really looked like the two were going to kill each other. At least they weren't using their powers…yet. "Guys, cut it out!"

Either they didn't hear her over the cheering or they were ignoring her. "Lance! Wing! Stop it!" She glanced helplessly at Bobby, who had an eyebrow raised in admiration.

"Man, Lance is really kicking his ass. This is more of a mutilation than a fight."

"Bobby! Do something!"

"What do you want me to do?" He asked, holding his hands up in surrender. "He's your boyfriend!"

Then one of the students shouted. "Kelly's coming!" The group scrambled away, as if they hadn't just stood there and watched the two boys beat on each other mercilessly.

"Lance, Kelly will use any excuse he can get to kick you out! Do you really want to get expelled?" she tried to reason with him. He even glanced up at her, considering the punishment, until Wing hit him square in the eye. Lance growled with fury, and went right back to try and get him back for the black eye that was already beginning to swell.

"Alright, children!" Rogue shouted at them. "If you guys won't stop, Ah'll stop ya my way!" She began to take her gloves off and both of them froze long enough for Bobby to pull Wing away and Kitty to scoot between the two.

"Lance, calm down," Kitty begged, taking his hands in hers. "Please, it's not worth it."

"C'mon, Wing," Bobby said, leading his friend away. "Let's go someplace where Kelly can't suspend you."

She mouthed 'Thank you!' to Rogue before glaring at her boyfriend. "What were you thinking! You know you could be kicked out for littering, and you still get into a fistfight!"

"I don't want to talk about it, Kitty," he grumbled, walking towards the cafeteria.

"Well, I do! I mean, it's not like you got into a fight with a football player or even Scott—that I'd understand. But why Wing? He's my friend!"

"Exactly!" He roared angrily.

"Exactly what?"

"I…I just really don't want to talk about it…"

"Why? I'm your girlfriend, Lance. You're supposed to be able to tell me everything…" she leaned on one of the large trees on campus, then folded her arms across her chest.

"Kit…" he sighed, then took her head in his hands and kissed her deeply. She leaned into it, hands bracing herself against Lance's muscular biceps.

When they finally broke off for air, she rolled her eyes, even though a smile still played on her lips. "You know, we really can't do that to solve all our relationship problems."

"Why not? Works for me," he smirked, kissing her again. "Hey, you love me, right?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I love you." She kissed his jaw. "Nothing could come between us."

"Not even Summers?"

"No one. I'd never do anything to hurt you, Lance," Kitty assured him.

"Good," he grinned and kissed her again.

She pulled away gently once they were finished and glanced at his eye. "Oh, man, Lance. Can you even see out of that?"

"Nah, it's ok though. You should see the other guy."

"That's not funny!"

Bobby jogged up to the pair. "Yo, Lance!"

"Hey, Ice Boy. What's up?"

Kitty frowned at him. "Aren't you supposed to be with Wing?"

"Nah, Rogue said she'd take him to the clinic. You really got him good, man!" he slapped Lance a high five.

"You're pigs, both of you." She turned to walk away until Lance pulled her back, placing an affectionate kiss on the top of her head. "Oh, and the bell's going to ring in like two minutes. We totally missed lunch, and like, I completely blame you."

"Alright, alright. I'll take you to get something to eat after school, ok?" Lance pleaded with her, brown eyes soft and kind.

"Fine," she sighed as her gaze fixed on his eye again. "Are you sure you can even drive with that? Maybe I should drive…"

Behind her, Bobby was frantically waving his arms as if to say "Only do that if you want to DIE!" She glared at him. "What's wrong with me driving?"

"Well, I'm sure Lance would prefer his car in one piece and not accidentally fused into a building or a tree or something."

"Shut up, Drake!" She kicked him lightly. "But, really Lance, doesn't it hurt?"

"I've had worse. Really, Kitty, it's ok."

"I've got an idea!" Bobby said suddenly. "Kitty, do you have like a handkerchief or a plastic bag or something?"

"I might." She fumbled through her backpack before producing an empty Ziploc bag. "Here."

"Thanks." Checking to see there was no one around to see him, Bobby shot several small blocks of ice into it before handing it over to Lance. "Instant ice pack."

"Aw, thanks," he held it up to his eye in relief just as the bell rang. "I'll see you later, Kit."

"Bye, guys," she gave Lance a light peck on the cheek before hurrying off to her afternoon classes.

A few hours later, Lance was dropping Kitty off at the Institute. She desperately didn't want to go inside and face Jean with her confession. Eventually, she left the jeep once her boyfriend told her he really needed to get home and they'd have plenty of time to enjoy each other's company after dinner tomorrow.

With one final kiss, she went inside, the food she'd recently eaten tossed and turned in her stomach as she walked upstairs and knocked on Jean's door. "Come in!" she called from inside.

Kitty slowly opened the door and peered inside. "Hey, Jean."

"Oh, hey. What's up?" She turned in her desk chair, putting down the pencil she'd been working on her homework with.

"I…I have something important to talk to you about," she whispered.

"Sit down," Jean frowned, gesturing to her bed. "What's wrong?"

"First, I'm only telling you this because I really think you should know and I don't like keeping things from my friends. And please don't interrupt me till I'm done, it's hard enough to say as it is." The redhead nodded and after taking a deep breath, she continued. "Yesterday I came home and I went to go look for Scott. And I saw him in his room…with Miss Frost. And they were talking I guess, and she…Jean, she kissed him. He pushed her away after a while. I just…You deserve to know. That's all I wanted to say."

Jean sat there in silence for a second. "She…she kissed him. He didn't kiss her?"

"No. But from my point of view, it doesn't look like he hated it, until he remembered you. And from what I got out of her idiot blather, there was more where that came from."

"Oh…" she nodded lightly. "Thanks, Kitty."

"You're welcome," she whispered, standing up. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing. Just…I…yeah. See you later."

Kitty shut the door behind her as she walked into the hallway. Poor Jean. She could tell that her friend was trying to be strong, trying to show Kitty that it wasn't right to lose it over a guy.

She was about to enter her room when she heard someone else knock on Jean's door: Scott. Jean opened the door solemnly. "We need to talk."

Kitty knew that it was none of her business. She knew that they should be able to work it out for themselves. That didn't stop her from going into the room next to Jeans and phasing her head through the wall near the floor.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Scott asked, taking the seat Kitty had been in a few minutes ago.

"Someone told me that Emma kissed you," Jean told him, too angry to beat around the bush.

"Who told you that?" He asked quickly.

"It doesn't matter. Did she kiss you?"

Scott hesitated for a second before nodding. "Yes. She kissed me."

"And did you kiss her back?" She held on to the edge of her desk. "Did you?"

"Maybe. I guess. I really don't know. It all happened so fast," he bit his bottom lip. "Jean…"

"So, you just let her kiss you?"

"No! What did you think I did?" He asked, brows furrowed in frustration. "Do you think I said 'Kiss me, Emma! Make me yours so I can hurt Jean, the person I love most in the whole world!'? Well, that's not what happened. I tried to stop her."

"Tried? You tried!" Jean screamed, standing up. "I guess you should have tried harder! You should have pushed her away so hard her implants popped!"

"What do you want from me?" He asked, burying his head in his hands.

"I…I don't know. I want you to be the same Scott you were two days ago," she sank back down in her chair. "But…as long as she's here, I don't think I can trust you."

"So where does that leave us?" He licked his lips and regarded her gently as a few tears slipped down her face.

"We..." Jean began to cry harder. When he reached out a hand to comfort her, she ignored her first instinct and jerked away. "I think you should go."

Scott stood up and very softly kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Jean." Then, trying to ignore her sobs, he left.

Kitty pulled out of the wall and left the room feeling more miserable than she had this morning. Jean was crying and it was her fault. _No, _she quickly corrected herself. _It's Emma Frost's fault._

Amara was going up the stairs into her room when she stopped her. "Um, hey. You should go check on Jean." Her friend didn't answer, just went to knock on the redhead's door.

Kitty retreated to her room, planning to do all of her homework in one sweep to get her mind off of everything else. This didn't last too long as there was a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in…"

Wing opened the door and ran a hand through his orange hair. "Uh…hey."

"I'm mad at you," she told him.

"Huh? Why?"

Kitty slammed her science book shut. "Hello? Does the fist fight with my boyfriend earlier ring any bells?"

"Oh. Well, that wasn't my fault," he said.

"And why not?"

"Listen, I said something and Lance just took it the wrong way," Wing explained. "I don't even remember what it was I said. Though the fact that he might have broken my arm may have pushed that out of my head."

"Sorry about that. He can get mad kind of quick," she pushed her pencil behind her ear. "What is it that you need?"

"I'm an idiot when it comes to math. Scott was telling me earlier that you're the smartest person in their trig class, even though you're only a sophomore. I could really use the help." He held up the geometry book in his arms.

"Well, that's true. Sure, come one over." For a half hour, she worked on the tougher problems with him, relating her dislike in writing proofs.

He stood up once they were done. "Thanks, you really helped me out."

She got up and opened the door for him. "No problem. Ask any time you need help."

"I will do that. I should let you go, I'm sure you have your own stuff to do," he tucked the math book under his arm.

"Kind of. I'll see you at dinner."

"Um…hey, Kit?" He asked. When she turned towards him, he grabbed her shoulders with his hands and kissed her gently.

It felt nice. Really nice. But there was something missing. And then she remembered: This wasn't Lance. Quickly, she phased out of his grip, and pushed him out the door once she became tangible again. "Go!" After the door had slammed shut, she leaned on it for good measuring. Panting, she brushed tears away as they ran down her cheek. There was only one thing running through her mind. "Lance can never find out."

* * *

A/N: For a chapter that I thought was going to be too short, I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written. I'm not sure when the next chapter is coming out, since I'm moving within the next two weeks and I really have to pack. But I'll do my best. 

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review Responses: 

El Diablo: Yes, not enough people write Lancitty. That's why I have made it my job to continue writing. I hope you like it.

Wonka-tonk: AMASD is All Men Are Scum Day. It was May 5th, which just shows how long it's taken me to update. I blame school. Thank you for reading.

DOJ: We all love Lance. I just adore him. Yeah, we really don't like Emma though. She'll be getting hers…

Starrydreamz: I'm so happy you like it. I love writing Lance and Kitty together, I just think they're perfect. I hope you keep reading.

Silverjazz: Thank you, I will!

TrueRomantic: Well, Scott may have if they had actually made it to lunch. I feel kind of sorry for Scott though. Poor thing. Thanks for reading.

Jenskott: Oh, yes, torture is high on my list of what should happen to Emma. I may just have to go through my medieval England notes to see if there's anything appropriate for her…

Larg0: Well, of course we can't kill Emma yet. That would just be really anti-climactic. I'm glad you like it so much.

Starfire-hime: God, Emma grates on just about everyone's nerves, doesn't she? AMASD is All Men Are Scum Day, dedicated to my ex-boyfriends.

Anti-XYO: I want to have an ice cream party dedicated to how much I hate Emma. That would rock. AMASD is All Men Are Scum Day.

STIG: Well, I apologize, but I have to, ya know, write it all first. Sorry that you had to wait for so long!


	10. When It All Comes Down

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution, any of its characters, Emma Frost or Wing. They are all property of Marvel.

* * *

"_X-men, please report outside the Danger Room as soon as possible. You have a lesson with Logan." _The telepathic order was met with five groans from across the house and a few people vaguely wondered whether or not there could be a worse time for this. 

Even with all their complaints, the five X-men assembled in front of the Danger Room door, where they were met by the Professor, Wolverine, Wing and Miss Frost. "I'm very glad you all could make it in such a timely manner," the Professor said in a way that made them understand if they hadn't, there'd be hell to pay. "Now, Emma would like to view one of your sessions. In order to get a first-hand look at how it works, Wing will join you while Miss Frost and I watch from the control booth. Pay attention to Wolverine and follow his instructions."

They left and Wolverine smirked at the troops. "Alright, you see this?" He held up a silver disc, roughly a quarter of an inch thick with a three inch diameter. "There are twenty-five all around the danger room. Some on the floor, the walls, the robotics. Anywhere you can think of. Your job is to find them all and put them in the counter across the finish line at the long end of the Room. If you are the one who put the last one in, it's you're job to make sure everyone gets across the finish line. We'll be timin' ya, so do it as quick as possible.

"Now, it's the same as any other danger room in the respect that you gotta help each other out. Don't focus too much on getting' the discs when people are gettin' thrown around all over the place. Everyone understand?" The students nodded. "Alright, once I open the door, you start."

The door slid open and the X-men and Wing sprinted inside. Kurt immediately spotted a light blue disc on the wall and teleported to get it. He bamfed to the other end of the hall, where Wolverine was standing next to a box. Nightcrawler dropped it through the slot and watched the counter change from zero to one.

"Nice job, Elf," Logan nodded to him. Nightcrawler saluted before teleporting back into the action.

From above Wing looked over the scene. Scott continued to blast his way through robotic arms sprouted from the wall, picking up a disk and running it to the box. Kitty was right behind him, but the two didn't interact. Wolverine frowned.

Rogue called out for help as a robotic arm held her twenty feet above the ground. Wing was trying to pull her up and out of its grip, but it hung on to her, thrashing around. "Get me outta here!" she screamed.

"I've got you, sis," Nightcrawler teleported up, grabbing her hand teleporting them both away, with a rough landing by the wall as they skid across the floor.

Logan was fed up. He signaled for Xavier to stop the exercise, then blew his whistle. "Everyone, over here! NOW!" The troops assembled. "What is with you today? Did someone give you all lobotomies overnight?"

Wolverine rubbed his eyes. "No, that's not fair. Stripes, Elf, you two did good. But the rest of you," He glared at Cyclops, Shadowcat and Jean. "I don't know what's up with you! Half-Pint, how hard would it have been for you to get Rogue down? It would have blown the fuses too. Two birds with one stone! Instead your head is in the clouds. I know you're not as ditsy as people like to say, so stop acting like it!"

"Cyke, you need to get your head in the game as well," he continued. "You're supposed to be in charge here, how about doing some leading? It's not enough to just stand there and shoot things! And Jeannie…" He shook his head. "I don't even want to know what's up with you today.

"This is what we're going to do. You all are gonna wait outside and get your heads together. I'm gonna take these out and put them around, as well as add twenty-five more. Then you're going to come back in and do this until you get it right. I don't care if you're running around this room until breakfast is served. Got it?"

They all nodded and filed out. Rogue put her arm around Kitty's waist. "What's up with you? It's not like you to leave me like that."

"I'm really sorry. I'm just not feeling well." Her eyes were trained to the ground as they waited outside.

"I can port you upstairs to get some aspirin," Kurt suggested.

She shook her head with a sigh. "No, it's ok. I'll get it later."

Rogue exchanged a look with her brother, whispering quietly, "Is it just me, or is there a whole lotta tension in this room?"

"I feel it too," He agreed. "I'll go talk to Scott; I have a book report to finish and I can't be here all night."

She nodded as he walked over to his friend. The southern girl didn't like the look of this. Jean and Scott were avoiding each other at all costs and Wing kept shooting looks over at Kitty.

The door finally opened and Wolverine blew his whistle, signaling everyone to go. Kitty immediately spotted one on top of the lasers and ran over there, letting the beams go through her body. After grabbing it, she didn't even notice anything behind her until she heard the explosion. She turned quickly to see a robotic spider that had been split in half by Scott's optic blasts.

Her heart leaped; even though she'd done something terrible to him, he'd just saved her. "Um…do you want me to run that in for you?" she nodded to the disk in his hand. He tossed it to her and she sprinted to the other side of the room.

Rogue, who had no offensive or defensive powers against machinery, did her best to duck and weave through the attacks. Jean flew above, creating a shield and gathering any disks she could see around the room with the telekinesis.

Eventually, the five X-men assembled near the box, staring at the number on the box: 49. "We're only missing one!" Scott grumbled. "Are we sure we looked everywhere?" The rest of the quintet nodded.

Wing flew down and handed them the last one. "It was on the ceiling."

Everyone stared at Wolverine. "The ceiling?" Rogue demanded. "How'd you even get it up there?"

"That's for me to know. Alright, you guys did good this time. You're a team; working together is generally a good thing," Logan looked at each of them in turn. "Now go get cleaned up."

They trudged towards the locker room, Kitty accepting Kurt's generous offer of teleporting. Suddenly, she was exhausted. Lazily, she took a shower and changed into her most comfortable pajamas, the ones that had been washed so much the cotton was as soft as air and continuously smelled like laundry soap.

She couldn't worship her bed anymore than she already did, laying on it and trying to make her body relax. When it looked like her father's bank was going under, she remembered him getting very tired. He didn't want to eat, all he seemed to do was sleep; his doctor said that it was because of the stress.

Now she could certainly understand how he felt. Her life's work wasn't going down the drain, but she had broken up Jean and Scott, cheated on her boyfriend (it still made her feel like crap, even if she hadn't done it on purpose), and she'd screwed up in the Danger Room which could have ended up with Rogue getting hurt. In other words, she was a failure.

At least she'd finished her homework.

"I think I'm just going to go to bed," she mumbled to her roommate.

Rogue turned in the chair, biting her bottom lip. "Ah still got some homework to do. Ah guess I could go downstairs, but…"

"Oh, no, you won't bother me. Don't worry about it; do what you have to do," Kitty rolled over and closed her eyes. "Night, Rogue…"

The next thing she knew, she was being shook awake. "Wakey wakey, pretty Kitty. Time for school."

She rubbed her eyes, glaring at her annoyingly chipper friend. Why did Rogue have to decide to be a morning person on the one day she wasn't? "I'm awake." She sat up slowly, feeling a deep throbbing in her head.

"Wow, you look like crap," her friend told her, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Oh, thanks. Just what I want to wake up to."

"No, really, are you feelin' ok?" A concerned look past over Rogue's face. Kitty realized she must really look horrible.

"I'm still not feeling really good from last night. That's all," she grumbled, running a hand through her hair.

Her friend didn't look convinced. "You just wait right there, don't get up!" After the commandment, Rogue sprinted out into the hallway, returning a few moments later with Ororo.

Kitty suppressed a groan; she really hadn't wanted to get any of the staff involved. But she had to admit, the woman's cool hands felt like heaven on the heated skin of her cheeks. "You do feel a little warm," Storm admitted. "You must be coming down with the same thing Jean has. She isn't feeling well either.

"Today, Kitten, I want you to stay in bed. Rogue, if you're ready, I'd prefer if you waited downstairs until breakfast is ready. I wouldn't want you to get sick as well." She put her hand on the girls shoulder.

Rogue nodded and grabbed her bag. "Feel better, Kitty. I'll make sure Kurt gets all your homework for you."

"Thanks," She smiled at her, eyes closing as exhaustion took over again.

"I'll come check on you in a little bit, child," Ororo leaned over and placed the lightest of kisses on Kitty's forehead, as a signal that she was allowed to rest.

It seemed only a minute later that she was gently being shook awake. Kitty managed to open one eye, to see Storm standing there with an ear thermometer. "I'm sorry, dear, I just want to check on you. Tilt your head to the side a bit, it'll be over in a second." She obeyed, letting it slip into her ear.

It beeped in a few seconds. "Do I have a fever?" she whispered.

"A slight one. 100.5" She stroked Kitty's hair. "That's why I brought this for you." She motioned to a glass of water and two Tylenol, then helped Kitty sit up and take them.

Once again, she drifted back into unconsciousness, wondering if it was possible to actually make herself sick over the stress.

Around lunchtime, she was woken up again and greeted with a delicious smell. Unfortunately, it only made her feel nauseas. It felt as if five different people were poking her at once and she finally looked to see six Jamies standing around her bed. "Um…is there something you need?"

"Mr. McCoy told me to bring you something to eat," one of them said, indicating to the Jamie with a tray.

"Thanks." She sat up and put the tray on her lap, staring at it. Usually Ororo's noodle soup and fresh rolls would make her mouth water, but it only seemed unappetizing to her at the moment.

"You have to eat," Jamie by the foot of her bed, instructed. "Mr. McCoy said that you need to keep your strength up."

"Right. Of course," She picked up one of the buttery rolls, forcing herself to eat it if only to make Jamie go away.

He smiled at her, then absorbed all his multiples. "Please eat, Kitty, I don't want you to be sick."

She briefly recalled Amara reminding her about Jamie's crush and her heart melted. He was one guy she could always count on. "I will, Jamie. Thank you." She blew him a light kiss, causing the kid to beam at her before leaving her room.

Forcing herself, half of the meal was gone before she couldn't take anymore and put the tray on the ground. Kitty wished that they had a dog; or that Kurt was there, as it was basically the same principal.

She had been resting for a few minutes until there was a soft knock at her door. "Come in," she requested of the visitor.

Logan stuck his head inside. "How ya doin', Half-pint?"

Kitty shrugged. "I'm ok, I guess. I think my fever went down."

It didn't seem as if he believed her as he sat on the side of her bed, patting her leg through her comforter. "You can fool 'Ro, and maybe even your roommate, but not me. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied.

"You're lying."

"I'm not. Why aren't I allowed to be sick?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Course you are. But you're not. Neither is Jeannie, but she won't tell me either. I'm guessing that you two have something to do with each other, so I'm askin' you now." His black eyes looked at her closely. "What's going on?"

As if she was actually going to explain her love life to the Wolverine. "Nothing, Mr. Logan. I just don't feel well." She summoned a few stray tears to her eyes, voice cracking. "Why are you treating me like I've done something wrong?"

"Kitty, I'm sorry, I just—"

"Logan!" Ororo admonished from the door. "Why are you bothering the patients?"

"We were just talking!" He defended himself. "I was trying to see…"

"She's sick, she doesn't need you bantering her about everything that's going on right now," the goddess insisted. "Now, go do something that isn't bothering the children, Wolverine."

Even he knew better than to mess with her when she used that tone of voice. Logan ruffled Kitty's hair. "We'll talk later, Punkin. Feel better." He left, passing Ororo and walked down the stairs as she watched to make sure he didn't double back to pester Jean.

After making sure he was really downstairs for good, she sat on the bed and pulled Kitty into a loving embrace. "Oh, Kitten, I know things haven't been easy lately. There are a lot of changes. And it's not just in this house."

"What do you mean?" She murmured, snuggling closer.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, I'm probably overreacting. But the weather…it's been off lately. The wind has been strong. Cold. Almost ominous," she whispered.

"Perhaps Frosty would be a good adjective," Kitty suggested.

"Now, Child, we can't go around accusing people of things that haven't happened," Storm warned, but tightened her hug.

"They haven't happened yet," the young girl reminded her. "If you sense something's wrong, can't you let the Professor know? You're not the only one who doesn't trust her."

Ororo smiled. "Ah, but isn't that one of the reasons we love our dear Charles? He is very easy to trust, even those who do not deserve it. I believe that is the reason you and a certain Brotherhood member have been able to spend so much time together."

It felt as if a knife has pierced Kitty's heart and she whispered, "I guess you're right. When something bad happens—"

"If something bad happens," the motherly figure assured her. "I know we will be right there to meet our challenge."

Hesitantly, Kitty nodded. "I guess you're right. That's what the X-men are here for, right?"

"Exactly, Kitten. Now, the others won't be home for a few more hours. Try to get some more sleep." She kissed Kitty's temple, then let go in order to arrange her back on the bed.

The light scent that lingered from Ororo's natural perfume was comforting. Once more she drifted off to sleep and didn't wake up until Rogue hissed, "Kurt, be quiet! Kitty's sleeping!"

"No, I'm not," she replied groggily.

"Oh, hey, Katzchen!" Three fuzzy fingers stroked her arm.

"Hey, Kurt, Rogue. What time is it?" Kitty sat up, stretching out.

Rogue checked the clock by her bed. "It's almost 6:30. Did you get a lot of sleep today? How are you feeling?"

"I got a lot actually, and I am feeling a little better." Or, as better as she could feel with a pounding headache, a stomach in knots and a huge crick in her neck.

"Well, that's good. Missed you at school today," the Elf smiled at her. "I was just going to pop downstairs and see if I can help with dinner. Do you need me to get you anything?"

"That's ok, thank you for the offer though." Kitty rotated her shoulders, trying to work the knot out.

"Ok, I'll see you girls later!" he winked and 'ported out, leaving a cloud of sulfur behind him.

No sooner had he gone was there a knock at the door. "C'mon in!" Rogue said, searching her bag for a pen.

Wing poked his head in. "Hey. I just wanted to see how you were feeling."

"We need to talk," Kitty replied so firmly that Rogue looked at her, curiousness in her green eyes. "Meet me downstairs in a few minutes, ok?"

"Um. Ok." He closed the door behind him and Kitty walked slowly over to her closet.

"What do ya think you're doin'?" her roommate raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm just going to sit outside with him for a little bit. That's all." Truthfully, Kitty didn't want to be in any place or situation that he could take advantage of her again. The confines of her room were just that: confining. Out on the grounds there were plenty of places to go to.

Pulling on a pair of jean pants and black t-shirt, she started out the door in her slippers until a voice inside her head reminded her to get a sweater; the adults would not appreciate her going outside just to get sicker. Pulling the pink cotton over her shoulders, she rolled the sleeves up her arm and went downstairs without even bothering to pull her hair up.

"What are you doing out of bed, Kitty?" the Beast asked as she came down the steps.

"I was just going to sit outside for a little while," she explained. "Isn't fresh air supposed to be good for me?"

"I suppose so. Not too long though, alright?" He smiled lightly at her and she nodded before leading Wing outside.

They sat on a wooden bench on the side of the house. "What did you want to talk to me about?" He asked, green eyes looking at her imploringly.

"What happened yesterday was wrong," Kitty told him firmly.

"You didn't like it?"

"That's not the point. Even if I had, I have a boyfriend. You know, Lance? Guy who makes all the rock puns?" Her lips were set in a firm line, but she couldn't help noticing how he kept looking at them.

"But Kitty, you don't belong with him. That hood is no good for you. I've heard about your past; just how can you trust me?" Wing asked honestly, moving closer.

"He's changed!" She insisted. "He's loving and kind and he really does care about me. He won't hurt me again."

"Miss Pryde," He stared straight into her eyes, "Are you a fucking retard?"

For a moment she was too stunned to say anything. Eventually, she just choked out, "Wh-what?"

"I've known a lot of guys in my time, Pryde, and that Lance isn't one of the better ones. I mentioned something about us hanging out yesterday and you saw what happened!"

"Well…I don't care you what think!" She told him, eyes filling lightly. "I know Lance and you don't. He loves me."

He sighed. "Kitty…if that's the way you want to be, who am I to stop you. I just want you to be happy. But…could you do one last thing for me?"

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

"One last kiss."

"We only had one. You're talking like we've been making out for years," Kitty scowled.

"Humor me, Pryde!" He ran a hand through his orange hair, jaw set in determination. "Listen, I…I just want one more kiss. To remember how amazing you are. Then I'll stop pestering you. I promise."

"You promise?" She insisted. He nodded. "Alright. One last kiss." Before she could protest anymore, he put a hand on the back of her head, gently pressing her lips against his.

Again, it was nice, but there was no spark. Nothing to make it special. After a moment or two, she realized he wasn't paying attention to her anymore. Her eyes snapped open to see him looking at something behind her. Kitty turned around to see who it was and her heart died.

Lance was standing there, looking at her as if she'd just shot him.

_Oh my god. A date. We were supposed to go on a date tonight. And he was supposed to pick me up at seven. It's seven now. Oh my god._

"Lance!" she called after him as he started back to the gate. "Lance, wait, please!"

He had an advantage over her as she ran after him. His emotions were so out of control that the ground was shaking, rolling beneath her feet. "Please, wait!" she sprinted after him just before he reached his car. She took hold of his arm to slow him down.

Kitty let go as he spun to turn her. There was a murderous look in his eyes, but his face was etched with pain. "Go. Away."

"Lance, let me explain!" She begged, tears openly flowing down her face.

"Explain! Explain what! How you've been cheating on me all this time? How you lied to me?" Avalanche took a firm grip on her arm, the Earth rumbling to match his anger.

"I…I didn't mean to, I just—"

"Didn't mean to! DIDN'T MEAN TO!" If he hadn't been holding to her, she would have been thrown aside dangerously by the rough shocks through the ground. "You know what you were doing, don't try to pretend you didn't!"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she sobbed, body shaking with emotion. "Please forgive me. Please, please…"

"Forgive you?" The movement beneath her feet died down as he released her and stepped towards the Jeep's door. "I don't even want to look at you!" he spat, and once more it tore at what was left of her heart.

"You…You don't mean that," she whispered, the only sound she could make.

"No, I know exactly what I mean and exactly what I'm doing! Just like you did," He told her, voice surprisingly and frighteningly quiet, with a hardness she'd never heard from him before. "And what I really mean is that I never want to see you again."

Kitty gasped for air as he climbed into his car. "Lance…please," she begged with what was left of her voice, not even sure he could hear her.

He looked at her with the utmost hatred before pealing out of the parking lot, taking the last of her hope with him.

Up in the house, ice blue eyes watched as pale painted lips curled into a devious smile.

* * *

A/N: Another chapter that just seemed to write itself. I thought it was going to be too short. I'm sorry that it took so long to update; I blame Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Also, the first part of this chapter was a bitch to write, it was almost a week to do the first two pages. I've been waiting to do this for a long time to use all the great Astonishing X-men quotes. It was extremely enjoyable. 

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review Responses: 

Wonka-tonk: I'm so happy you liked it! I tried to update as soon as possible and I will continue to do so!

DOJ: Now Kitty feels ever worse. Poor thing. And Scott and Jean still haven't made up. We'll just have to see where it goes.

Jenskott: Unfortunately, there wasn't much of Emma in here, but there will definitely be more in later chapters. Thank you for your compliments though. I'm glad you've finally gotten to see some X-men Evolution episodes, and I really hope you enjoy them. Yeah, Kitty is a hypocrite, but she's in love, she can't help it. That's her excuse and she's sticking with it. Of course, I still don't understand how Emma and Rachel suddenly decided to work together in the new issues of Uncanny X-men…And she was one of the top people in the I Hate Emma Frost Club.

Starrydreamz: I'm sorry I've been taking so long. Here's the new chapter! Enjoy!

Iamhollywood: And here I continue with the drama. I hope you like it. Thank you for reviewing.

El Diablo: Lance was too mad at Kitty to even think of kicking Wing's ass. Of course, that'll be the first thing that comes to his mind when he gets home, but he's never been the quickest guy. That's Pietro. As you've seen, all of the worrying made Kitty physically sick. I don't think she much likes being a hypocrite.

Larg0: I'm really glad you enjoy it. I do have another Lancitty fic that I've started, but I've decided not to post it till at least I've finished this one. I really hope you like this chapter.

Numbuh 333 Half way 2 hell: Well, technically, Lance didn't find out. He caught them in the act. Which is even worse. We'll just have to see what happens next. Thank you for reviewing.

Rogue14: I'm very happy you decided to check it out. Writing Emma is so much fun, she adds that bit of spice that keeps a fic from being so…blah, I guess. I will update In The Heat soon, I promise.


	11. Falling Apart

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution, any of its characters, Emma Frost or Wing. They are all property of Marvel.

* * *

A few minutes later, Rogue tapped Kitty's shoulder. "Kit? Hey, are you ok?" Her friend didn't move, just continued staring at the path the Jeep took as it drove away from her, leaving only a broken heart in it's wake. "Alright, you just stay right here."

She returned a few minutes later with Kurt, who looked just as worried. "Katzchen?" The siblings exchanged a look when Kitty didn't respond. "Alright, we'll take you inside…" Kurt wrapped an arm around each girl, and thanks to Xavier working with him, managed to teleport them into their bedroom.

Kitty sat hard on her bedspread, eyes still wide in disbelief. Her mind was still processing what had happened. She didn't want to accept it, hence the delayed reaction. Rogue tried again. "Kitty, what's wrong?"

"Lance…" she whispered, the words finally forming. "Lance broke up with me." Then the tears started. Heavy and hard, they rolled down her face as she gasped for air.

Her friends were equally shocked. Obviously, they'd missed something. Rogue sat down next to her and Kitty buried her head against the black cloth of her shirt. "Um…there, there…" she patted her back as it heaved with another sob. "It's gonna be ok, Kitty."

"No! It's all my fault and it'll never be ok again!" the brunette protested, arms around Rogue's waist as she used her as an anchor to reality.

Rogue looked at Kurt desperately. He wasn't sure what to do though. He wasn't used to women crying; this was a lot more Jean's department than his, but the redhead had obviously checked out and Ororo said not to bother her. "Um…" he grabbed the box of Kleenex off her dresser and held it out. "Tissue?"

Kitty took one hesitantly as her roommate rolled her eyes. "Thanks…" Without ceasing her tears, she blew her nose, then threw the tissue to the trashcan. She missed, which only made her cry harder.

"Sugar, Ah'm sure if you talk to him, y'all can make up," Rogue attempted.

"He said he never wanted to see me again!" she wailed, falling back on her pillows and sobbing.

Rogue felt the need to hit her head against something hard and blunt. Or maybe she should hit Lance's head against something hard and blunt. That would certainly make her feel better right about now. "He just said that because he was angry. If ya just talk to him…?"

Kitty shook her head and her friend realized that it was very hard to make someone feel better about something when you didn't know what the hell happened. There was a voice out in the hall, "Dinner!"

Kurt and Rogue watched Kitty pale. "Don't worry, we'll tell them you're not feeling good," he told her. "Um…we'll…yeah." They left, each wondering what to do as they sat down at the table.

"How's Kitty feeling?" Mr. McCoy asked.

"Not so good," Kurt answered slowly.

The professor looked over at them. "So she won't be up to going to school tomorrow?"

"The next time she steps in that school she'll be taking my kids…" Rogue grumbled under her breath, then managed a smile. "Yeah, Ah think it's a safe bet to say she won't be up to going to school tomorrow."

"Oh, dear, and I thought she was doing better earlier." Ororo sighed. "Would you bring her something after we eat, please?"

"Sure."

"And Scott," she continued. "You'll bring some to Jean?"

His fork stopped midway to his mouth and he stared at her from behind his sunglasses. "Um…"

"I'll do it!" Amara suggested quickly. "I wanted to ask her about something anyway."

"Thank you, Amara." The weather witch looked curiously at Scott, then continued her conversation with Logan about a cold front coming in.

After dinner, Rogue hesitantly went back to her room. She and Kurt hadn't mentioned to anyone about the break-up. If Kitty wanted them to know, she would tell them. Her friend had obviously cried herself to sleep if her wet pillow and flushed cheeks indicated anything. "Don't worry, Kitty. Ah'll make this right, tomorrow."

* * *

It was common knowledge that making the women of the Xavier Institute upset was generally a bad thing. Rumors around Bayville High said that if you made them mad, they may not be able to find your body. So when they saw Rogue as she stomped down the hallway, they moved out of the way.

Lance didn't even look up as she leaned hard against the locker next to his. "What do you want, Rogue?"

"We've always been on the same page, more or less, right?" she asked.

He glanced over, raising an eyebrow. "I guess."

"Now, me, Ah thought ya'll were doin' pretty good. Kitty was happy. You seemed happy. Our teams were tearin' each other apart. Emma Frost exists, so the worlds not perfect, but it seems like things were gettin' there," she sighed. "So, what gives?"

"What exactly did _she_ tell you?" Lance closed his locker a little bit harder than necessary.

"First of all, don't say '_she' _like that or soon Ah'll be the one making earthquakes and you'll be the one in a coma. Second, Kitty didn't tell me anything. All she said was that you two broke up and then she started crying, which Ah believe she hasn't stopped doin' since."

His face softened a bit, then turned right back to stone. "Well, maybe she shouldn't have cheated on me then."

"What?" the question came out as little more than a whisper. "What are you talking about?"

"She cheated on me. I can't make it any clearer." He started to walk away, when Rogue reached out, pulling him back by his leather vest.

"You're a fuckin' liar, Alvers!" she hissed. "Kitty would never cheat on you. The girl is loyal to a fault and Ah won't have you talkin' shit about her."

"Two days ago I would have agreed with you," he pulled away from her angrily.

Rogue glared at him. "Who told you that? Huh? Who told you Kitty was cheating on you?"

"No one had to tell me!" he roared, earning himself a few stares from passing students. "I saw it for myself!"

She stared at in him shock. "With who?"

"Guess," he demanded, animosity coating his voice.

Rogue thought about everyone who could have possibly been there at the moment and the realization came over her. "Wing." He didn't answer, but she knew she was right. "Lance, she doesn't like him. Ah'm sure it was an accident. She loves you."

"Sure has a funny way of showing it," he spat. "And tell me exactly how you can accidentally cheat on someone."

"Well…" the bell rang before she could come up with an answer.

"Exactly. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to class." He walked away before letting her respond, leaving a very confused Rogue in the hallway.

* * *

There was an overbearing weight on Kitty's chest when she woke up. It took her a moment to realize that it was her heart, or at least the leftover pieces of it. She couldn't remember feeling more miserable and alone in her entire life.

The tears didn't take long to start again, and Kitty sat in bed, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them. Without the nightly bustle of the house, Ororo overheard her from the hallway. "Child, what on Earth is wrong?" she brushed some of the tears away.

Kitty looked at her incredulously. "You mean…Rogue didn't tell you?"

"Tell us what, Kitten?" Storm pulled her into a motherly embrace and the young girl realized how much better this was than Rogue's careful hug.

"Lance broke up with me," she told her, the words still hard to say.

"Oh, no, dear. Is there anything I can do? Anything you can do?" she removed Kitty's ponytail holder, stroking the loose brown locks.

Shadowcat shook her head, marveling at her guardian's comforting smell of rain. "He doesn't even want to look at me. I…He hates me, Ororo. Just hates me."

"I just can't believe that. How could anyone hate someone as sweet and wonderful as you?" She hugged Kitty closer. "What happened?"

The girl shook her head, indicating that she didn't want to talk about it. "Doesn't matter. He'll never speak to me again."

"Still, I think you should try to call him later," Ororo suggested. "There's a good possibility he's calmed down by now. Perhaps you'll have a chance to get through to him."

As if the helplessness had finally settled over, Kitty began to cry again. Storm held her, whispering words of comfort until she was interrupted by Logan. "What's going on in here?" He demanded. "What happened to Half-pint?"

"Lance broke up with her," Storm explained in her most sympathetic tone.

"That's it? You're crying over the rock-tumbler?" It was obvious that the Wolverine didn't believe her. "If you want a boyfriend, I'm sure Kurt's still got a thing for you."

"Logan!" the goddess glared at him furiously. "If you're not going to say anything helpful, then—"

"Hey, Red!" He looked at Jean, who was coming down the hall from the bathroom. "Are you still upset because Lance broke up with you too?"

She blinked at him in confusion. "Oh, Kitty, did Lance break up with you? I'm so sorry!"

"Thanks, Jean," Kitty sniffled and her friend telepathically gave her the box of tissues.

"Alright, we know her problem, what's up with you?" Wolverine tried again.

She glared at him. "For the last time, it's none of your business and I don't want to talk about it!" Jean stormed down the hall and slammed her door behind her as he sighed in defeat.

"That's all my fault too…" Kitty began to cry again, burying her head against the soft cotton of Storm's shirt.

"Logan, maybe you should go hit something. The Danger Room doesn't have to listen to you talk," Ororo told him coldly. He finally got the picture and left the two alone, but not for long. Then someone worse came.

"Is there something wrong?" Emma Frost asked smoothly, actually managing to look like she cared. "I couldn't help but overhearing the ruckus."

"A bit of a personal problem; nothing you need to be concerned with," Storm explained. Kitty curled closer, but held her tongue. She didn't want to know how her teacher would react if she said "Bite me!" to Miss Frost.

"It seems you and your little boyfriend broke up. I'm terribly sorry." Her words flowed nicely, coupled with a timed fake sympathy as she approached the bed. "I'm sure you'll find someone else. But you know, I am a telepath. Maybe I can help…" she reached out as if to touch Kitty's head.

Like her namesake, she pulled back and smacked Emma's hand away. Neither of the women would have been surprised if she had hissed as her ears flattened against her head.

Frost stepped back quickly. "Well, if you need anything, you know where to find me." She turned and left, closing the door quickly behind her.

"You can retract your claws now, Kitten," Ororo instructed, but Kitty could tell she was amused and relaxed.

Her blue eyes matched the other woman's. "You know she wasn't trying to help!"

"Though I agree it's doubtful, we don't know that for a fact. She may very well have been trying to."

"Storm, you may be able to fly, but pigs still can't." Storm chuckled as Kitty sighed, "When did things start getting so messed up? Miss Frost, me and Lance, Jean and Scott…"

The African woman blinked. "And what, pray tell, is wrong with Jean and Scott?"

"Nothing," she replied quickly. When Ororo gave her an appraising look, she clarified. "Nothing I can talk about without Jean killing me. Or making me think I'm a turtle for the rest of my life."

She nodded. "Well, what do you want to do?"

"I think I'll just do my homework," she sighed, and walked to the desk to get what Kurt had brought home for her yesterday.

"Alright, Kitten. If you need me, I should be in my garden." Ororo kissed the top of Kitty's head. "Don't dwell on this, dear. Try to talk to Lance later." With that, she left.

For the next few hours, Kitty filled her brain with equations, wars and physics. There was no room left for depression or thoughts of a certain Brotherhood boy. She was just starting her Spanish homework when Logan peeked his head in. "Um…hey, kid."

"Hi, Mr. Logan," she whispered and stopped conjugating her verbs. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Kinda wanted to…apologize," he muttered. "I mean, I could have been nicer earlier. I just don't like seeing you beat yourself up over Alvers of all people."

She looked up at him. "But…Mr. Logan…I love him. I didn't mean to, like, I mean, it wasn't on purpose. Haven't you ever had a broken heart?"

He stared for a second. "Y-Yeah…I guess I have." Logan put a hand on her shoulder. "But, you know, there are a lot of fish in the sea. I can promise you that while Alvers may be the Catch of the Day, he shouldn't be the fish you mount on your wall."

"Mr. Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"Just because my name is Kitty doesn't mean you need to use fish euphemisms."

He chuckled. "Right, right. Well, if you want someone to help you take your mind off this, come see me. I'll toss ya in the Danger Room and watch ya break stuff."

She smiled at him. "Thanks. I think I'm just gonna finish my homework and maybe wallow some more."

"Whatever, Half-pint," Logan rolled his eyes and left just as Rogue was coming in.

"Hey, how was school?" Kitty asked.

"Interesting," Rogue replied after considering her answer. "Ya know, Kitty, Ah really wanna know what happened yesterday."

"And I really don't want to talk about it," she grumbled, rolling on to her side to face the window.

Rogue sat on her bed so Kitty had to look at her. "Well, Ah do. Ah talked to Lance."

"What? Why?" she shot up in bed.

"Ah wanted to know what sort of idiot breaks up with a great girl like you!" her roommate told her adamantly. "He said that you cheated on him."

"It's…not like it sounds." Kitty covered her face with her hands. "It was an accident."

"How do you accidentally cheat on someone?"

"I didn't mean to!" she insisted, standing up angrily. "I would never hurt Lance and you know that!"

"Why don't you just tell me what happened?" Rogue pleaded.

Kitty sat down sadly. "The other day, Wing came in. After I yelled at him for fighting with Lance, I helped him with his homework. Before he left, he, like, kissed me."

"He kissed you," Rogue repeated in order to get the story straight.

"Right," she nodded.

"Did you kiss him back?"

"What?" Kitty blinked. "Why does it matter?"

"Because it's different if you kiss back. So did you?"

"I don't really remember," she sighed. "Anyway, the next day we went outside to talk and he said that if he could kiss me one last time, then he'd leave me alone."

"And you believed him?" Rogue asked in a deadpan.

"Um…yes?"

She rubbed her face mid-eyeroll, then gestured for her friend to continue. "Go on."

Kitty sighed again. "We kissed and Lance showed up to take me out—I'd totally forgotten all about it—and he saw us and freaked out and broke up with me and left. Not that I can blame him. I'm a horrible person."

"You're not horrible. You were just stupid." Rogue leaned back against her own pillows. "Were you gonna tell him? If he hadn't caught you?"

"No!" She blinked. "Of course not."

"Why not?"

"I…I didn't want him to be upset. It was my choice and I should have been able to handle it however…I wanted to…" Suddenly, it dawned on her. "Oh, man."

"What's wrong?" Rogue asked.

"If…I dunno, say, Kurt told Lance about Wing, do you think that's ok?" Kitty questioned.

"Personally? Yeah. Ah think he deserved to know, one way or another," she told her, stretching her arms over her head.

"No…" Kitty whispered. "She didn't need to know."

"Huh?" Rogue cocked her head to the side. "What are you going on about?"

She stood up and went to the door. "There's something I have to do. Be back in a second." Kitty walked down the hall and knocked on Scott's door.

He opened it within a few seconds. "Um…hi. Listen, I heard about Alvers and I'm really sorry. It's not my fault or anything. I even heard that some people came forward and they were cleared of all the charges from City Hall and everything…"

"Stop!" she interrupted quickly. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

He noticed that she was starting to cry again; according to Kurt, she would do that for a while. "Come in." Scott ushered her to sit on his bed and closed the door behind her. "Why are you so sorry?"

"I'm the one who told!" Kitty choked out. "I told Jean about you and Emma."

"You? But, how…?"

"Jamie said you wanted to see me, so I went to your room and I saw her kiss you. And then I told Jean. It was wrong of me!" she admitted, tears dripping on to his bedspread. "This was your business and you should have handled it however you wanted, without me butting in. I'm so so sorry, Scott."

He sat with her and made her look at him. "It's not your fault. You were trying to help your friend. I should have told her, but I destroyed that trust between us. I'm not going to shoot the messenger." Scott gave her a hug and felt like a jerk. Kitty had enough of her own problems without worrying about what was left of his love life.

"You're really not mad at me?"

"Of course not. Forget about me and Jean. I want you to know that I still think Alvers is a jerk. I love you, though, Kitty and I never wanted him to hurt you." He gave her a squeeze.

"I know you didn't," she smiled lightly, then hugged her big brother, feeling all the tension between them melt away. "Do you think I could just stay here for a while?"

He rubbed her back, a plan forming in his head. "Sure, Kitty. Sure."

* * *

Rogue got up to look in the hallway after her friend, but the only person she saw was Wing. Within a second, he was pinned against the wall with one hand, the other one dangerously gloveless in front of his face. "Look here: Don't go near Kitty. Don't look at her, don't talk to her, don't even ask her to pass the salt. If you even try to do anything to hurt her again, I'll kill you. Do you understand that?"

He eyed her skin hesitantly. "Got it."

She went back into her room and he continued down the hall and went into the guest room Emma Frost was occupying. "I'm here. What did you need to talk to me about?"

Emma put down her silver lipstick and smiled at him. "Kitty broke up with that Brotherhood boy. Good work."

"I feel like a jerk," He admitted, sinking in to a chair.

"You like her, don't you?" she pointed out. "Now you can have her and nothing will stand in your way. Or my way either."

"Miss Frost, you still haven't told me exactly what we're doing here." Wing eyed her suspiciously. "Aren't I supposed to be learning from you?"

"Don't worry, Edward. You are going to learn a lot very, very soon." She smiled at him. "Just wait a little longer and everything will come into focus."

* * *

A/N: Another chapter done. School starts for me next week, but I'll try to keep updating as much as I can.

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review Responses:

Iamhollywood: Yes, Emma is up to her tricks again. I'm really glad that you like Logan though. Thanks for reading.

Rogue14: Kick away. Or if you can get the trigger for Logan to slice him up, you can do that as well. You'll find out about Emma's evil schemes soon, I promise.

Starrydreamz: I'm so happy you love it. You'll find out what happens to our favorite pair next chapter.

Jenskott: The people at Marvel are idiots. No one likes Scott with Emma. I don't even think Scott really likes that he's with Emma. If Rachel wasn't a telepath, I'd say that Emma had her hypnotized too. Maybe it was all a dream sequence. Yeah, let's call it that.

Sugarhighnutjob: That makes me so happy. You're so sweet. I promise to keep updating as much as I can.

DOJ: If I walked in on my boyfriend kissing another girl, heads would be rolling. Or another boy. Because that has happened to me before. There will be some things resolved soon.

Kitkatfox: Oh my god, I love that pun! Maybe I have a sick sense of humor, but that really made me laugh. And you're not alone. I've caught 2 of my ex-boyfriends cheating on me (one was with a guy…that really helped my self-esteem).

ScrewSociety666: I'm so happy you're that in to the story. I really hope you like this new chapter. I'm sorry there isn't a lot of Wing for you to beat on, Rogue got to him first.

Shadyk: Yes, let's all hate Emma! And I really can't hate Wing, since I molded him to do that. I'm glad you can feel some sympathy for Jean and Scott. Thank you for reading.

El Diablo: Ranting is never pointless. Poor Lance and Kitty though. How will this ever get fixed? Find out next chapter. And I'm very sorry if that sounded like a plug. Thanks for reviewing.


	12. Independence Day

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution, any of its characters, Emma Frost or Wing. They are all property of Marvel. I don't own Foxy, Barbie or Savant. Foxy is made up, Barbie is owned by Mattel and Savant is owned by Lynne Hale, who I also don't own. Thanks for my nails, Lynne!

Dedicated to Laine, who is not here to beta this. I hope you're having fun in South Carolina and working on your special project, sweetie!

* * *

There is no rest for the weary, or so Kitty discovered that Saturday morning. "Wakey, wakey, Kitty Cat," Tabby told her, pulling back her blanket as another sadist opened the blinds, angling it so the sunlight hit her eyes. 

"Go away," Kitty grumbled uncharacteristically, rolling over and burying her head against her pillow. This alone would have caused the blonde to worry; generally her friend was bouncy and energetic, even at ten on a Saturday morning.

She gestured for Rogue and Amara to help her. The three forced Kitty to sit up. "No, uh uh, not anymore, hon. I've heard all about your moping around, and I was to put an end to it. I'm gonna cheer you up the Boom-Boom way!"

Kitty rubbed her eyes, finally realizing that Jean was also there, and looked half-asleep as well. "Yeah? And how do you propose to do that?"

"Ever hear of a little term called retail therapy?"

The brunette stared at Tabitha, then glanced at Jean for confirmation. The redhead shrugged, "They just got me out of bed too."

Kitty looked at the other three Sirens. "You know, we could totally take you."

Rogue grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet. "Get up, get dressed, get something to eat; we're going to the mall."

A mini-skirt and v-neck shirt were deposited and on her bed until Amara and Tabby went to make sure Jean dressed as well. Ten minutes later they were all downstairs, toasting English muffins. Then Amara asked, "And how are we getting to the mall?"

"Can't we use Scott's car?" Tabitha murmured through a mouth full of peanut butter.

Jean didn't answer, but Amara shook her head. "He said he had errands to run today."

The toaster dinged. "I guess we could always steal Lance's jeep again," the blonde suggested.

Kitty twitched and suddenly her breakfast felt heavy on her tongue. Rogue glanced at her quickly before answering, "Ah'm not sure if that's a good idea." The girls sighed and wracked their brains when Wolverine came in to get a cup of coffee. "Hey, Mr. Logan, think we could borrow the X-van to go to the mall?"

"It ain't no taxi service, Stripes. It's for missions. Take the bus. It's what public transportation is for."

Amara blinked. "What's public transportation?"

"Well, you know those yellow busses at school?" Jean asked. The princess nodded. "It's sort of like that. Buses have a route, and people can get on and off periodically."

"You mean, we have to ride with people we don't know?" Amara whispered, brown eyes wide.

"Generally how it works," Rogue smirked.

"Let's not do that!" Amara said quickly. "There's a reason Nova Roman doesn't—and probably never will—have public transportation."

"Do we have enough for a taxi?" Kitty wondered aloud.

"I do!" Amara volunteered, bouncing up.

"We're going to need more than one," Jean observed, "Unless we all want to squish together in the backseat."

"Don't worry about it, I'll pay!" The princess told them. "Just please don't make me ride the bus."

"Alright, Ah'll call," Rogue picked up the kitchen phone and dialed the local cab company. "They'll be here in about five minutes," she announced and sat back down at the table.

"So do we have a plan or something?" Kitty asked warily, eyeing her kidnappers.

Tabitha considered this. "Well…I figured we'd go try on things we can't afford." She glanced at Amara, "At least some of us can't afford it. Maybe buy some stuff. Spend half of our money in Godiva, listen to anti-male music…how does that sound so far?"

"Heavenly," Jean told them honestly. "You think we could get our nails done too?"

Amara squealed in delight. "Great idea! They opened that new spa down the street. I'm gonna treat everyone." She rested her head on top of Kitty's. "So cheer up and forget what's-his-face!"

Shadowcat smiled lightly. "Thanks guys."

The taxi honked from outside and the quintet ambled towards the front door, Rogue shouting to any teachers in earshot that they were leaving. Rogue and Kitty got into the first cab with Jean, Amara and Tabitha in the second.

Their first stop was Foxy and Tabitha headed straight for a rack of miniskirts. She pulled out a black jean one that was probably less than a foot in total length. "Here, Kitty, try this on."

"Tabby!" she protested, holding the material against her body. "This is practically underwear. Mr. Logan would freak."

"We're not getting it for Badger to look at," the blonde rolled her eyes. "It's for every male who isn't old enough to be our dads. After we're done with you, you're going to be a knockout."

"I'm slightly offended…" Kitty admitted.

Amara put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be. You look great, and not like I can talk, but it's a bit…"

"Preppy?" Rogue offered. "Ah mean, you're no Catholic schoolgirl—"

"That would be Rahne," Amara interjected.

"But your wardrobe could take a little lightening up," the southerner finished.

Tabitha shoved several shirts and skirts into Kitty's arms. "Now, you go try these on and we'll bring you more stuff." She gave her a shove in the direction of the changing rooms and started going through the racks.

Shadowcat grumbled and shuffled away as Jean started helping them look. "I don't have a boyfriend anymore either, why aren't you guys treating me like your life-sized Barbie?"

Rogue shot her a look. "Because if guys stared any harder at you, their eyes would fall out. As if you're gonna have any problem replacing Scott."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jean asked.

"Nothing. Just…nothing. I'm gonna go check over there." Finding a sale rack thirty feet away, she walked over quickly.

Jean stared at her retreating back. She'd thought that Rogue had had a crush on Scott a while ago, but whether or not she was over it by now…after they'd gotten together, she'd simply assumed. "She can not be mad at me for breaking up with Scott, can she?" the redhead wondered aloud, more to herself than anyone else.

"I think she's just disappointed," Amara explained, checking the tags on a pink skirt. "You know she liked him. I think all the girls did at one point or another."

"I didn't," Tabitha snorted.

"No, you liked Kurt. But Rogue knows that even though you guys broke up, there's no chance for her. Scott would cut his head off it would make you forgive him and he's not gonna settle for anything less."

She was silent for a moment. "I'm gonna go check on Kitty…" Jean walked towards the dressing rooms. "Kitty?"

"In here!" Her friend stuck a hand up over the door of the room. "Something up?"

"I was just checking on you. Let's see how you look." The lock on the door slid open, revealing her friend in a short white skirt and a striped shirt that was tighter than anything she'd normally wear.

"I feel self-conscious," Kitty admitted. "Do I look ok?"

"Great," Jean smiled at her. "But you know, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I know Tabby's kind of…forward, but you can always say no."

She shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal. I don't mind adding to my wardrobe, spicing it up a bit. Paying for it is a completely different matter, of course."

"I might be able to donate to your fund," she offered with a smirk.

"Don't bother." Kitty's ponytail swung back and forth as she shook her head. "We're doing this so I can be independent or whatever. I'm not going to take money from you."

Jean blinked. "Well…well, good for you, Kitty."

The younger girl grinned. "Yeah, I think so too!"

The rest of the quintet shuffled in a few minutes later, congratulated Kitty on how nice she looked and then made her try on a whole bunch more. When they'd finally exhausted that, Kitty bought the outfits she liked most, along with a few pairs of shoes. Tabitha insisted she change into some of her new clothes, and happily obliging, she was soon attracting the attention of quite a few members of the opposite sex.

Rogue carefully put her arm around Kitty's shoulders. "So, how are you feeling about you-know-who?"

Kitty glanced at her friend proudly. "I have absolutely no idea who you're talking about."

"Good girl."

The five walked over to Savant, the new spa, and Amara approached the desk. "Hello. Can I see a list of your services for today?"

"I'm sorry," the receptionist asked, "Do you have an appointment? You need to make an appointment."

Tabitha groaned, but Amara didn't falter in the slightest. "Oh, really? Because I'm willing to pay upfront in cash." She pulled out her wallet and flashed the woman several hundred dollar bills that she'd extracted from the ATM machine.

"Welcome to Savant!" the woman smiled. "Give me one moment and I can print up any openings or cancellations for you girls."

Within a few minutes, Kitty, Amara and Jean were laying down for massages as Rogue and Tabitha decided to check out the sauna. Kitty couldn't remember the last time she had felt so good. The masseuse worked out every kink in her body, unknotting the pain that she'd caused herself.

A small sigh erupted from her throat, which she hoped her friends would take as one of contentment. _Stop thinking of Lance, _she commanded herself. _You're supposed to be a strong woman who doesn't need a man. _Kitty adjusted her arms to wipe the tears coming from her eyes. _From now on, Lance Alvers no longer exists. _

* * *

Scott Summers briefly wondered if there was a heard of pigs flying behind him. After running some errands for the professor, he was doing something he said he'd only do when hell froze over. Apparently, Bobby and Satan had had a poker game earlier. 

He pulled up the driveway of the Brotherhood house and shut off the engine of his convertible. Scott knocked on the door, half hoping no one would answer it. Unfortunately, Pietro opened up. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Alvers. Not fight, just talk."

The male twin sped away, calling something like, "Hey, Lance, Summers is here to talk to you. I think something's wrong with the Universe."

Within a minute, Lance was at the door, looking at him as if he'd just grown two heads. "What the fuck do you want?"

"I want to talk to you about Kitty."

"There's nothing to talk about. She cheated on me, I hate her, and I never want to see her or any of you X-Geeks ever again." Lance crossed his arms over his chest angrily.

Scott hadn't known that she had cheated on him. "I know you don't hate her."

"Oh, so you're a telepath too now?"

He willed his temper to stay down. "No, but how could you hate her? Kitty's sweet and kind and she really loves you. She's been a mess ever since you left her. All she does is stay at home and cry. She misses you."

"Well…I don't miss her." Avalanche was having trouble scowling now. After a few days, the thought of Kitty just hurt more than it made him angry.

From his seat on the stairs, Todd coughed, "Lair."

"SHUT UP!" Lance commanded, causing the ground to shake under them.

"Look, be as macho as you want, Alvers, but Kitty misses you. You're making her miserable and I hate it. She's like a sister to me, and you know there's no way I'd ever come unless it was a big deal. At least talk to her and stop being such an ass," Scott finally said before marching away and getting back in his sports car.

Lance glared at the convertible until it was out of sight, then sighed and looked at the ground. A headache was already forming in his mind.

"Maybe…you should go," Toad suggested. "I mean, she wasn't so bad as some of the others. She did say "like" a lot, but you were a lot easier to live with before. I'm your friend, Lance. We all want you to be happy. Well, maybe not my snookums, but otherwise…"

He started going up the stairs and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Thanks, Todd. I…appreciate that. I'll think about it." The two exchanged a smile and Lance had a feeling that even without Kitty, everything was going to be alright.

* * *

A few hours later, the girls were back at the Institute and Jean had decided to make smoothies for everyone. She'd taken over the blender with a mixture of ice cream, berries and bananas. "Here you go, Rogue," the redhead handed over the last bit to her friend. 

"What's going on in here?" Emma asked sweetly, sitting at the table.

"Making smoothies." Suddenly, Jean got a spark of inspiration. "Do you want one?"

The blonde woman considered it. "Yes, that would be nice."

The blender started again, and after she'd finished making it, claiming it was, "Special, just for you," Jean passed it to Amara to give it to Miss Frost as Storm came into the kitchen.

"Jean, dear, did you put out that rat poison like I asked you too? Goddess, what I wouldn't do to have Rahne back to take care of the vermin."

"Oh, yes, the rat poison is exactly where it needs to be." She pressed the button on the blender again, before removing the last of the smoothie and pouring it down the sink.

Emma stared at the drink in front of her, skin turning whiter than usual. "Actually, I'm watching my weight, but thank you anyway." She pushed the cup away from her and exited the room quickly.

Amara picked it up and brought it back to her friend. "What do you want me to do with this?"

"Just toss it," the elder X-man instructed. "You, uh, might want to throw away the cup too…"

"You didn't!" the princess protested, though the rest of the girls laughed loudly and eagerly. Since Ororo looked primed for a long, strict scolding, Kitty hopped up when she heard the doorbell ring. "I'll get it!"

Quickly, she skipped towards the front door, in a good mood after the new clothes, treatment at the spa, and Jean's delicious, poison-free smoothies. Pulling open the door, she greeted the visitor with a, "Hel…lo…"

He looked at her, pushing the dark brown hair out of her eyes. "Hey, Kitty."

As she stared back, all of the confidence that had been built up over the day fled like a bat out of hell. "Lance."

* * *

A/N: This is a short chapter, barely making my 2,500 point (if it doesn't make that, it's not finished). But this is a transitional chapter and it included my patented rat poison smoothies. My birthday is next Wednesday, so next week is going to be extremely busy for me. I will try to work as much as possible though. Ironically, my birthday is going to be spent at a spa, which I didn't even find out until after I wrote that part of this chapter. 

Since I'm sure most of you are Lancitty fans (if you don't like the pairing, why would you be reading this?), I'd like to point out my new Lancitty oneshot called No Good Way. Some of you have read it already and I'm glad you liked it! This is the end of my shameless advertising.

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review Responses:

Starrydreamz: The scene with Kitty and Scott is one of my favorites as well. I love their relationship. By now you should know what Scott was up to, which was an extreme personal sacrifice. I hope you liked it!

Jacx: Everyone hates Emma. Welcome to the club. Now all we have to do is let Marvel know…

DOJ: I'm so happy you liked it! I really enjoy writing for Logan and when I see his voice actor again in September I'm going to make a list of the lines I want him to say. Because yes, I am an obsessive fangirl. I got to here him sing "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" last time and it was the best.

Kitkatfox: I seem to write Rogue with a better opinion than what I actually think about her. I do believe she really cares about Kitty though, so I try to fit that in as often as I can, since I write about Kitty a lot.

ScrewSociety666: Yes, let's make a mob and kill Emma Frost! I hope you like this chapter.

Silentxloudmouth: I'm so happy that you love it. Well, Jean almost succeeded in the death of Emma today. Sadly, it did not work. Though that would be a pretty anticlimactic ending, don'tcha think?

Lancitty Lover: You will find out the answer to Lance and Kitty's relationship squabbles in the next chapter. Whether or not the get back together will be answered!

E-HERO Edgeman: Thank you.

Rogue14: Now, Rogue would never have killed Wing. She can only kill her parents, of course. I hope you like this chapter.

Sofie: I'm doing my best to up the number of Lancitty fics in the world, but it's slow going. Next chapter you'll find out whether or not they get back together! Thank you for reviewing!


	13. Kiss and Make Up

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution, any of its characters, Emma Frost or Wing. They are all property of Marvel. I don't own Muvico or Porsche. I do own Grayson's Garage.

* * *

Kitty licked her lips, staring at her ex-boyfriend in shock. "What are you doing here?" 

"I came to talk," he told her. "If you want me to go, I will."

"No!" She grabbed his arm, holding it desperately. "Please, Lance, don't leave." He stared at her for a second before nodding. Kitty shut the front door behind them and the two took a seat on the front steps of the school. "I'm sorry," she whispered after a moment of silence. "You have to know I would never hurt you intentionally."

"What do you call kissing another guy?" He insisted, growing tense.

She sighed. "It was a stupid mistake. See, the day you guys had that horrible fight, Wing and I talked and I told him how furious I was at him. He apologized and then he kissed me. _He _kissed _me_," Kitty made sure to reiterate.

He nodded. "That doesn't explain what happened when I came to pick you up for the date."

"When he came home from school that day, I told him we needed to talk. I explained that I loved you and I didn't want to cheat on you." Kitty pushed a lock of hair behind her ears, staring at the stairs underneath them. "He said that after one last kiss he'd leave me alone and we could forget about it."

"And you believed that?"

She looked at him angrily. "Yes, I know I'm an idiot! Everyone's told me that multiple times, I, like, don't think I need to hear it again!"

Lance looked taken aback, trying not to smirk. He thought she was really cute when she was angry. "Hey, you're not an idiot. I didn't mean it like that. Please stop crying."

It took her a moment to realize she actually was crying. She'd been so used to it that the tears didn't even register anymore. Wiping her cheeks dry furiously, she looked back into the yard. "Now what? Do you still hate me?"

"I never hated you," he grumbled. "It's just something I said in the heat of the moment. Though I'd think you remember what that's like."

She smiled despite herself. "Does this mean you forgive me?" Kitty glanced up at him, blue eyes large with hope.

Even Lance would admit that it was impossible to say no to a face like that. "I missed you too much to not forgive you." His hand found hers, squeezing it affectionately, happy just to be touching her again.

"I missed you too." The pair leaned in for a kiss, lips remembering exactly what the other liked. His free hand cradled the back of her head, fingers entwining with the locks of hair from her ponytail. Caught in the passion of the moment, Kitty moved surreptitiously into his lap. At this point, she didn't care who was watching them.

Unfortunately, Lance realized that he was technically still in enemy territory and didn't want to know what adamantium claws would do to his poor body. He broke away from her lips, placing light kisses on the rest of her face while she smiled happily. "I don't mean to ruin the moment," she told him, wrapping an arm around his neck, "But why are you here anyway?"

He looked up from where he'd been entranced with a sensitive spot under her ear. "Summers actually came to see me."

"…What?"

"Yeah, we were freaked out too. The guy shows up and more or less told me to suck it up and come talk to you or he'd kick my ass," Lance shrugged. "And not that I'm scared of Summers, but talking to you didn't seem like the most horrible thing in the world. And I figured even if you weren't here, I could still kick that Wing's ass. Or if you tell me where he is, I can kill two birds with one stone."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Bloodshed's the last thing I find romantic, but thanks for the offer."

He chuckled, then kissed her lightly. "Ok, how's this for an offer: You and I get in my jeep and go somewhere where we can be alone and show the world a new level of kiss and make up?"

"Sounds good to me," she grinned. "Let me just tell everyone I'm going." Almost giddily, she skipped inside, first heading to the rec room. Scott got up from a chair where he had been doing his homework, stretching his arms over his head when Kitty attached herself to him.

"What's going on?" He asked her, half expecting tears. Instead he was greeted by a huge grin.

"You are the best big brother in the entire world!" She told him, hugging him tightly before placing a kiss on his cheek.

Scott raised an eyebrow at her before realizing what she meant. "Don't worry about it, Kitty. I'm glad you're happy."

"The happiest!" She gave him another hug before walking back towards the door. "I'm going out now, see you later!"

"Where are ya goin'?" Rogue asked, folding her arms over her chest. She and Tabitha had come to see what all the commotion was about.

"Out with Lance!" Kitty grinned at them before phasing through the front door and down the steps.

Her two fellow Sirens stared in shock before exchanging a high five. As they walked back to the kitchen to inform Amara and Jean the good news, Tabby asked, "So, if she's not depressed anymore, think I can have all her new clothes?"

* * *

Sunday dawned bright and sunny for Kitty Pryde. After spending a two hour make-out session with her boyfriend the night before, she'd come home and got the Professor's permission to spend the entire day with him, as she'd finished all her make-up work. 

As everyone kept going in and out of the kitchen for breakfast, she asked, "Do, what's everyone doing today?"

"The Professor, Logan and I are going in to New York City," Storm explained. "I do hope you all can fend for yourself for lunch. Of course, Hank will be in his office if you need him, but he will be working so try not to bother him."

"Don't worry about it, Storm," Amara smiled, eating an apple. "Rogue and I are meeting Tabitha at the library to work on our final projects for school."

Jean nodded. "And I'm spending the day with my sister."

"And I'll be with Lance!" Kitty grinned, happily spreading cream cheese on her bagel.

"So we heard twenty times last night," Ray grumbled as he and the rest of the New Mutant boys filed in.

"Do you all have anything planned today?" Ororo asked, putting the fried bacon on to the table in front on them.

Bobby shook his head and smiled thankfully at Amara, who poured a glass of orange juice for him. "I think we're all just going to hang out here."

The princess looked at them strangely. "Don't you guys have to do your finals too?"

"That's not due for another like two weeks or something, right?" Sam confirmed.

"Yeah, why waste a perfectly good Sunday where we could be doing nothing by doing homework?" Bobby asked, mouth full of food.

Amara rolled her eyes. "You should really come and get it done, but whatever."

From the doorway, Rogue called, "You ready to go, 'Mara?"

"I'm coming." With one last glance at Bobby, she walked out of the kitchen.

"Is it just me, or has she been getting a lot madder ever since we got back from that cruise?" The Iceman asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

Jean was doing her best not to smile. "Poor, dumb guys…"

He looked at her sharply. "If you know something, tell me. Please, Jean? She's one of my friends, I don't want her to be mad at me!"

"Sorry, can't tell you. It's against the Code." She put her plate in the dishwasher. "You'll just have to figure it out for yourself." Jean and Kitty both heard him mumble something that Storm scolded him for as they walked out to wait in the living room for their respective rides.

"So, what's your sister doing in town anyway?" Kitty asked, setting on the soft couch.

"Well, Sarah was thinking about transferring to Columbia, and since she was spending the weekend on campus, she realized that it wouldn't be too far out of the way for us to spend some time together." Jean smiled lightly. "I miss her sometimes, it'll be nice to catch up."

Kitty returned the smile. "I'm happy for you. I'm an only child, it gets lonely sometimes."

"I'm sure you won't be lonely today. So, if you don't mind me asking, how did you and Lance get back together anyway?" There was something hopeful about the question.

She hugged her legs to her chest, grinning. "Actually, it was because of Scott."

"…What?"

Laughing, she answered, "Yeah, that was my reaction too. Scott went over there and pretty much threatened Lance until he came to talk to me. It was really sweet of him."

"Yeah…It was…" Jean seemed lost in thought so Kitty decided not to bother her anymore.

A few minutes later, Scott came into the room. "Jean, your sister's here to pick you up."

"Oh, thanks. I'll see you later, Kitty." The younger girl waved at her and the redhead started to leave before turning and looking at Scott. "Hey, um…I was thinking…when I get back, do you think we could sit down and talk?"

He blinked at her repeatedly. "I…yeah, that'd be perfect. I'm not going anywhere, so I'll be here when you get home."

She blushed lightly. "Great. See you later then." Jean gave him a light kiss on the cheek before going to meet her sister.

Kitty grinned. "I think she likes you."

He grinned back. "Thanks for the kind words, Kitty. Let's call us even. Especially since Alvers is waiting outside." Scott wasn't sure whether or not to look happy about that last part.

"Eek! Thanks!" She ran outside, grabbing her purse on the way. He was waiting on the passenger side, holding the door open for her. Kitty gave him a big kiss before sliding into the jeep.

"Nice to see you too," he smiled, closing the door and climbing in on the other side. "So, where are we going?"

"Wherever you want," Kitty offered, just glad to be with him again.

"Wherever, huh?" Lance grinned.

"Within reason, of course. Mr. Logan may be out of town for a few hours, but he'll still hunt you down when he gets back." She leaned against his shoulder. "And I love you too much to let you be suicidal."

"I love you too." At the first traffic light they stopped back, he kissed her slowly, gently savoring the feeling. "So, you want to go to the movies."

Kitty nodded. "Sounds good, what are we gonna see?"

Lance blinked. "Does it matter? I wasn't exactly planning on _watching_ the movie…"

Laughing, she nodded in agreement. "Let's go." The couple sat in the back of a theater with less than a dozen other people at the Bayville Muvico, more interested in each other than whatever was playing in the screen. Luckily, the designers of the theater were brilliant, at least in the eyes of hormonal teenagers, in the fact that you could push up the armrests.

Lance immediately pulled her into his lap after the lights dimmed. His lips danced along her graceful neck, hand toying with her necklace. He enjoyed her light purring, and nipped lightly at her earlobe. "By the way, I like your new outfit. You look hot."

"I'll tell Tabby you enjoy her taste," she told him, easily recapturing his lips and reminding him that he really was the one she loved. Of course, she'd probably never wear this leather skirt again since it was more than uncomfortable, but she was glad he liked it. He'd probably like her better out of it, but that was completely beside the point.

The two were enjoying each other's company until her cell phone vibrated in her purse. Pulling it out, the caller ID said "Lance" but since he was currently acting as her pillow, she knew it'd have to be one of the other Brotherhood members. "Hello?" she whispered into the mouthpiece.

"Hey, it's Pietro, I need to talk to Lance," the male twin said quickly.

"Um…ok…" She held out the small pink phone to her boyfriend. "It's Pietro."

Frowning, he took the phone. "Yeah? What? Oh…man…ok, ok. Got it. See you later." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Kitty. I have to go to work."

The few people who were in the audience turned to glare at them. "C'mon," she took his hand, leading him outside into the parking lot. "I thought you weren't starting work yet."

"After we, uh, separated, I asked if I could start earlier than planned. They need me to do an emergency Porsche job, since none of the other guys who are working today know what the hell they're doing. It shouldn't take more than an hour," he explained, unlocking the doors of the jeep.

"Could I just, I dunno, like, watch?" Kitty suggested. "I promise I won't be in the way and when you finish we can totally grab something to be eat. I'm sure you'll be hungry."

He glanced over at her before pulling out of the parking lot. "I'm sure you have things you'd rather do."

"I just want to be with you," she assured him with a smile.

"Alright, we'll ask my boss. If anything you can sit pretty and draw in customers." When they pulled up to Grayson's Garage and Lance led her through the employee entrance in the back.

"Alvers, good, you're here. The Porsche is over in number three, but who's this?" Grayson was a muscular man in his late thirties wearing blue coveralls.

Kitty smiled shyly as Lance introduced her. "This is Kitty Pryde, my girlfriend. She was wondering if she could just sit and wait until I was finished. As you can see, she's small, probably won't be in the way much."

He stared at her for a second. "Eh, I can't say no to this cutie. Just try not to break anything. Lance is one of the best mechanics we have, I'm gonna try to keep him happy. There's a soda machine and some magazines in the lounge, make yourself at home. Alvers, you get to work."

Lance gave Kitty a kiss and pointed towards the Lounge before going to his locker and putting his coveralls on. She went to go get a soda; her lips and mouth were still getting used to being so busy again. After checking around what seemed to be the break room—apparently, either Lance worked with all men or the women were extremely easygoing—she found him with the Porsche. "Hey, honey."

"Hey, pretty Kitty," He was checking the engine and didn't bother to look up. "Take a seat on that stool if you want to."

She looked behind her and there was indeed a stool as well as a table for her to put her drink on. "Anyway I can help?"

"Honey, I love you, but I wouldn't even let you drive a car, nonetheless tinker with something this expensive. Especially what you do to electronics with your special gift."

"Oh. Right. Ok, then. If you get thirsty or something, let me know." She sighed lightly, then stared at the closed captioned TV showing the news.

A little while later, another person entered the vicinity. "And who are you, beautiful?"

Kitty looked at the middle aged man who was also wearing coveralls. His smile wasn't a lecherous one, more friendly than anything else, but even so, she was so surprised that she almost phased through her chair.

"Oh, I'm Kitty."

"Kitty, huh?" He raised an eyebrow, though she wasn't sure if he was patronizing her or not. "So, what's a cute thing like you doing here?"

"She's my girlfriend, Carson," Lance growled at him.

"Read: Go near her and I'll bludgeon you with my wrench."

"That's the least of what I'll do to you." Lance smirked, but pointed the wrench at him anyway. "Plus, she's too smart for you anyway."

"Oh, yeah? Then what she doing with you for?"

Avalanche frowned. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

Carson laughed. "Alright, I'll leave. It's nice to meet you, Kitty. You watch out for our guy here." Clapping Lance on the back, he went back to the lounge as Kitty told him, "Will do!"

Sighing, he looked at Kitty apologetically. "I'm almost done, I promise."

"It's fine, really. I like watching you work." It would have been a better view if he didn't have to wear those stupid coveralls, but that wasn't her decision.

"You're the best, Kit, really." Humming to himself, Lance got back to work and Kitty counted ceiling tiles.

Twenty minutes later, he finally announced he was finished. After changing and making sure his hands were completely clean, they went to go get lunch. Both were starved and worked through their food easily. When they were finished, Lance found a quiet, secluded spot for him to make-up for having to go to work.

The sun was setting by the time Lance decided to drop her back at the Institute. "Today was really nice, Lance," Kitty told him. "I love you."

"Love you too, pretty Kitty. We should do this again soon." Lance kissed her softly until he noticed something, pulling over to the side of the road where Rogue and Amara were walking. "Hey, guys, you want a ride?"

The princess brightened up immediately. "Oh, that's really nice of you, Lance." The two climbed into the back, where Rogue commented, "You know, I haven't been in this jeep for a long time…"

Lance blinked quizzically, trying to recall the last time he'd given her a ride while the girls laughed. Jean's sister was leaving the driveway at the same time he pulled up and deposited the girls. He and Kitty kissed for a good five minutes. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Fourth period," she agreed, leaning in for one last kiss. "Love you!"

"Love you too. I'll talk to you later, Kit."

She went inside with the rest of the girls and immediately felt something was wrong. Everyone else noticed it too. "Does it seem…quiet to anyway?" Rogue asked.

"Almost creepy," Jean figured, hugging her arms to her chest. "…Where are the boys?"

Amara blinked. "They're probably outside or something…" Even she sounded like she didn't believe it.

Jean shook her head. "Besides us, there's no mental activity in the area."

"They're the guys," Rogue snorted. "Are you that surprised?"

"I'm serious, Rogue!" the redhead insisted. "There's no one here except us." Without even discussing it, the girls took off, searching every part of the mansion. Kitty decided it was her job to look in the upstairs bedrooms, as she didn't have to worry about pesky locks.

Everything was empty. It didn't particularly look like a struggle in any of them and she wondered what could have happened. As a last result, she phased through Emma Frost's door, shocked at what she saw.

All of the woman's things were gone. It almost looked like she had never been there at all. To confirm her suspicions, she phased through enough walls to get to Wing's room. It as well, was empty.

Kitty was going downstairs to tell everyone what she had found when Amara's cry of "Mr. McCoy!" rang through the Institute. She and the rest of the girls assembled in the med lab where the princess hovered over Beast's prone body. "He's hurt!"

Jean leaned over and found a pulse. "He's just knocked out." After doing a quick check over his body, she levitated him on to a nearby bed.

"You guys, like, Miss Frost and Wing's stuff is totally missing. But everything else is here," Kitty told them.

"Ah'm callin' the Professor," Rogue announced, grabbing the nearest phone and dialing his cell number. After telling him the news over the phone, she hung up. "He'll be here in a few minutes; they were already on their way home. He wants us to wait in the living room."

The quartet made themselves as comfortable as they could knowing that their friends were missing. All of them were quiet until Rogue noticed Jean in deep concentration. "What are ya doin'?" The redhead didn't answer. "Jean?"

The remaining two stared also until Jean snapped out of her reverie. "They're in Boston!"

"Are they now?" the Professor asked from the doorway. "And how do you know this?"

"Because it's Scott," Jean told him in a no-nonsense tone. "I know where he is."

"Why don't you guys fill us in, k?" Logan instructed, looking at Kitty.

"Well, like, we all came home and thought it was really weird that it was so quiet and none of the guys were anywhere and we looked and Emma and Wing's stuff is all gone and like, Mr. McCoy was hurt and they we called you," she told him in one long breath.

Storm nodded. "I'm going to check on Hank."

"Ah don't get it," Rogue entrusted. "Ah mean, Ah know Emma's a bi…bad person, but why kidnap the guys?"

"Is it really kidnapping if they go willingly?" Logan wondered. "It's obvious that there was no struggle here."

Jean shook her head. "It was telepathy, there was no willingness involved on the boy's part."

"Still doesn't answer mah question," the Southerner reminded.

"Power," Amara said simply.

Xavier raised an eyebrow at her. "Care to elaborate?"

The princess scowled. "Look, I know you guys all think I can be stupid and naïve sometimes, but I grew up in politics and I know power struggles. Emma knew you had power and she wanted it. The boys were easy targets, being stupid and hormonal and idiots!"

"But what was Emma's angle for blaming the Brotherhood," he mused aloud. Unfortunately, he wasn't quiet enough.

"WHAT!" Kitty screamed, standing up indignantly. "That bitch is the one who blamed Lance!"

"Language, Half-pint," Logan warned.

The professor sighed, then nodded. "Yes, she said that it was her."

Before Kitty could rant anymore, Amara cut in. "She wants an army. A group of men who are so obsessed with her that they'll do anything she says. Her views on mutants, society, all working through them. And since she is a socialite, it'll be even easier for her to take over the country and then the world in her image."

"Sounds like she and Magneto'd get along swell," Logan grumbled.

"No," Amara shook her head. "She's not out for mutant supremacy. She's too selfish for that. She wants Emma supremacy and it doesn't matter who she uses to get to it."

Kitty sighed. "So what are we going to do?"

"We're going to get our boys back and kick her ass!" Jean announced, looking furious.

Charles Xavier chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't have phrased it quite like that, but yes. Girls, suit up. It seems we're going to Boston."

* * *

A/Ns: You can all thank Hurricane Rita and the Broward County School Board for this chapter. This chapter is so long, it made my hand hurt. There are only going to be about two chapters left, but I promise that I'll keep writing Lancitty fics after it's finished. 

Oh, and I broke 100 reviews! Thank you to everyone!

For those of you who don't know, I own an X-men: Evolution C2 called Lance's Pryde. If anyone wants to be a staff member or has any fics they want me to put in, just let me know and I'll be happy to do it!

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Review Responses: 

DOJ: I'm so happy you liked Scott. I love him too (just not recently in the comics, but that's an entirely different matter). Yes, I've met Scott's voice actor, Logan's voice actor and Xavier's voice actor. They were all very nice and Scott's agreed to marry me. I'm going to see Pietro's this year and maybe even more. Oh, and thank you for agreeing to be the first staff member for my C2. The idiot in me didn't realize that you actually had to invite staff members…

Silentxloudmouth: Lance and Kitty are back together here. I hope you enjoyed it.

Jacx: Oh, many people are in the "I hate Emma Frost Club". Pretty much every jott fan in the world, I would think. And yes, Jean really did put the rat poison in her smoothie.

Belle: I'm so happy you like it. Thanks for reviewing!

El Diablo: Yes, rat poison smoothies have been my signature death for about two years now. I've been waiting to do that for forever, it was very fun. And I'm sorry for the evil cliffhanger ending, which was fun to write too.

Shadyk: I'm sorry if Katrina hurt you. It only knocked out our power for a day or so. I hope everything turns out alright!

Rogue14: Yes, we all wished Emma had actually drunk the rat poison. And the cliffhanger was fun for me, since I was the one writing it. I hope you like this chapter.

Starrydreamz: I'm glad that you like this so much. I'm trying to make it as real as possible (the impossibility factor is one of the things that I didn't like about the comics). Thanks for reviewing.

Doza: I'm so happy that you took the time to read the whole thing and then review! I'm glad that you like it and I hope you'll keep reading.

Sofie: At times, I do go kind of cliffhanger crazy. It makes me feel really great that you enjoy this so much and I hope you like the Lancitty.

Numbuh 333 half way 2 hell: Yes, I like retail therapy as well. Thanks for reviewing.

Lifeofla-silverwolf: Thank you for all of the compliments, especially from coming from such a great Lancitty writer yourself. I'm very happy you like it!


	14. Expectations

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution, any of its characters, Emma Frost or Wing. They are all property of Marvel.

* * *

Kitty was starting to get frustrated as the phone rang for the fifteenth time. Pietro was most likely talking to one of his many girlfriends and was too busy to use the call waiting. Pushing the END button angrily, she turned the phone back on and called again, prepared to make yet another emergency breakthrough. 

"What do you want?" Pietro asked exasperatedly when he clicked over.

"I need to talk to Lance!" Kitty insisted.

She could practically see the white-haired boy glare at the phone. "You just saw him less than an hour ago, Pryde. I know you two are working on that attached-at-the-hip thing, but some people actually have things to talk about."

Kitty counted to ten. "Can you at least give him a message for me?"

"Yeah, yeah, what is it?"

"Look, just like, let him know that stupid Emma kidnapped the boys and we have to go to her stupid Massachusetts Academy in Boston to rescue them, so I probably won't be at school tomorrow, ok?" She told him. "Got all that?"

"Yes, I got it, I'll tell Lance, bye," the speed demon hung up on her and Kitty stuck her tongue at the phone before putting it back in the cradle.

Downstairs, Jean and Logan were prepping the jet, so she sat aside with Amara and Rogue. The princess whispered softly, "Do you think she's hurting them?"

Kitty hadn't even considered that. "I hope not."

"Whatever she does to them, she'll be getting back tenfold," Rogue promised, cracking her knuckles. "No one steals my little brother and gets away with it."

The professor rolled up to them. "Is everyone ready?" Simultaneously, the trio nodded. "Alright, let's get on the blackbird and get going."

There was no chatter as they flew towards Boston. Everyone was lost in his or her own thoughts, particularly Jean who gripped the steering firmly and stared straight ahead with a scowl on her face.

As they approached Beantown, Xavier regarded the other passengers. "You all know that I don't like to use violence unless it is necessary. Unfortunately, I feel in this case it may be. I trust all of you to use discretion when it comes to physically making your way to find the boys."

"In other words," Logan explained as he brought the plane down for a landing on Massachusetts Academy property, "Let's get in there and kick some ass!"

The jet landed in what seemed to be the backyard of the Academy and the women, Logan and the Professor piled out. "Kitty, would you mind unlocking the door?" Storm asked kindly, indicating the back door a few feet in front of them.

She jogged over, sliding her hand through the lock and smiled triumphantly when she heard the decisive pop. "We're in."

Wolverine came up behind her as Kitty pulled open the heavy door. "Um, Wolverine, I think you should—"

"AAARGH!" he screamed and flew back several feet as the punch connected with his head.

"Roberto!" Storm admonished at the young man as Kitty phased through another punch. "Stop it."

Xavier was concentrating on the young man's mind. "I don't believe he can, Ororo. I'm working on getting through the barrier's Emma Frost put up."

"Well, let me distract him so you can work faster!" Logan growled, jumping up and popping his claws with a decided SNIKT. Before he could even approach the Brazilian, dozens of Jamie clones in their X-men uniform rushed out of the door. "The hell is this?"

"Jamie, cut it out!" The princess ordered, pushing the attacker away.

Jean glanced at the professor, who seemed overwhelmed by all of the new minds. "Amara power up."

"I don't want to hurt them!"

"Magma, if we don't make him recall them, they'll just keep coming! Now I'm the leader of this mission and I say to power up!" the redhead ordered. Amara hesitated, feeling bad about hurting him, but took her Magma form anyway.

Several Jamie's who tried to jump on her disappeared, immediately recalled back from the painful heat. Jean set up a barrier around the group, letting Rogue walk through and lightly touched each of them. Luckily, after she was finally getting annoyed, she touched their original Jamie and all of the multiples were reabsorbed into his unconscious form. "Sorry, Kid," she told him, laying him on the ground gently.

Wolverine was still trying to dodge all of Sunspot's attacks, frustrated that he wasn't allowed to go on the offense. Then, when he felt that he couldn't hold back anymore, Roberto collapsed into the older man's arms. Logan looked at him uncomfortably. "What am I supposed to do with him?"

"Let's put them in the jet," Storm suggested. "I want them to be safe."

Logan swung Roberto over his shoulder as Jean telekinetically lifted Jamie along with him. "They do remember what happened the last time they left the New Mutants alone in the jet, right?" Rogue muttered to Kitty under her breath.

"Yeah, but Jamie and Roberto weren't even there," Kitty reminded her. "Of course, they also weren't telepathically controlled at the time…"

The others were signaling for them to come along and the group made their way through the richly designed hallways of the Massachusetts's Academy.

"Hold up a second!" Wolverine warned. "Everyone…get down!" The girls responded immediately and the Professor did his best to dodge the errant student cannonballing through the hallway from his chair.

"No, Logan, you can't hurt this one either," Xavier told him without even having to read his mind. "Jean, do you think you could…"

She nodded and as Sam came back towards them she erected a strong telekinetic wall that he crashed into. While invulnerability helped when he was breaking down walls and trees, hitting something that he couldn't make his way through stunned him enough for Xavier to give him a slight psychic bolt to knock him unconscious.

"So she's didn't just kidnap our boys, she's making them fight against us!" Amara cried, distraught at hurting her teammates.

"I didn't expect anything less of her," the redhead replied coolly. "Did you?" No one said anything as Jean walked away, everyone vigilant; the next threat could be just around the corner.

Luckily, they didn't have anything else happen until the group ran into a huge mass of ice completely blocking the hallway. "Ice Cube," Logan growled, popping his claws to start slashing at it.

"Don't, it'll take too long," Storm stopped him. "Amara, can you handle this?"

The young girl had already powered up and began melting the obstruction, using her frustration at the maker to heat it until the state of matter change was complete and there was a huge puddle of water soaking into the expensive Persian rug and wood flooring.

On the other side were Bobby, Ray and Kurt, who immediately launched into an attack. Storm's gusts of wind kept them at bay until Kurt teleported himself and his partners out of the way. Bobby shot ice randomly, not caring who he hit. Jean deflected the ones that aimed towards Rogue or the Professor, allowing Amara full access to the cocky mutant.

Powering down for just a moment so as not to provide him with several third degree burns, Amara placed a well aimed knee to the groin to her dear friend. Bobby gasped, hands cupping the pained area as he fell against the wall. The princess knocked him out with another blow to the head, but caught him before he could hit to ground too hard.

Letting him rest on the ground, she supported his head against the wall. "Remember when I said that you should really come to the library?" she whispered, ducking a bolt of lightning. "Well, I told you so."

Storm was tired of the lightning fight; as was Wolverine, since thanks to the adamantium coating his body, he was smoking more than the rest of them. "Just finish it already, 'Ro!" He coughed.

She called upon the forces of nature until a sight stopped her cold. "Kitty, behind you!"

Shadowcat turned to see Kurt approaching fast, sharp sword wielded gracefully in his hand. But before he could jump to deliver a blow, the ground rolled under their feet, knocking him off balance long enough for a strong fist to connect to his fuzzy face. "Listen, Blue Boy," the puncher told him. "Don't touch my girlfriend."

"Lance!" she squealed, attaching herself to him in a hug. "What are you doing here?"

They were momentarily distracted by Pietro running in rapid circles around Berzerker, enough to stun him into stepping back into Blob's grip before he was covered with Todd's slime. Wanda looked bored, "You guys had trouble beating them?"

Lance ignored her, turning back to his girlfriend's question. "Well, Pietro gave me your message so we came over here."

"No fucking way," Logan blinked.

"Actually, he told us that if anything happened to the cat over there that he'd take it out on us," Todd grumbled.

Rogue raised an eyebrow at the group. "How'd you get here so fast? You don't have a jet."

Pietro smirked, twirling the keys around his index finger. "No, but my dad does."

Everyone stared at them until Logan finally managed to say, "You stole Magneto's jet?"

"I prefer borrowed!" the white-haired teenager justified. "Plus, if he kicks the bucket it's ours anyway, why shouldn't we use it when we need it?"

"Well, while this chat is certainly interesting, and we're very grateful for your assistance, we do need to keep going. The White Queen should be just up ahead," Xavier pointed out.

They nodded and continued down the hall till they came to a large entrance way that led to a pair of large doors with WQ emblazoned on the gold. "Could she get any vain?" Wanda scoffed, wrinkling her nose.

"Apparently so," Rogue told her, pointing to a large 10 feet by 10 feet picture on the wall. It was four of the same picture of Emma put in a square, each picture tinted a different color (AN: Yes, she actually has that!).

"Ok, well, now that's just tacky."

Kitty glanced at the group. "It's probably locked. Do you want me to phase through and pop the lock?"

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Jean told her, narrowing her eyes. Suddenly, the doors flew inward, completely off their hinges as she marched inside. "Where are you, Frost? Get out here so I can kick your fake ass!"

Everyone blinked at her and Xavier was too shocked to remind her about her language. In fact, before anyone could say anything, she was hit by a beam of red light and thrown aside. "Jean!" Her friends called after her, prepared to rush to her side.

For one reason or another, the optic blasts didn't affect her much. "Scott, stop it!" she pleaded. "Please, Scott!"

"He's gonna hurt her!" Amara bit her bottom lip desperately.

"I don't care what you say, Chuck," Wolverine growled as he watched Jean deflect more beams off a wall she created with her powers. "The bitch has got him wrapped tighter than the others; he won't stop till Jeannie's dead!" Popping his claws, Logan launched himself at Cyclops, knocking him away as Scott's cry of pain filled the air.

Jean's green eyes widened in fear for her love. "SCOTT!" Logan backed away for fear of being thrown across the room by an angry redhead as she ran towards him, swallowing hard at the sight of blood pouring from his arm. "Oh, Scott," she stroked his hair back from his head.

"I only nicked his arm," Wolverine grumbled, wiping the blood off on his pants before sheathing his claws.

Scott's eyes blinked open from behind his goggles. "Jean…? Where am I?"

"It doesn't matter," she assured him, ripping a piece of fabric off a nearby tapestry and holding it to the wound. "Keep pressure there."

He did as he was told. "Look, Jean, I—"

"Just be quiet, Scott," she silenced him with a kiss, pouring her emotion into it to prove that she forgave him for everything.

Midway into their forgiveness kiss, everyone screamed from a sudden burst of pain in his or her skull. Jean, the professor and Kitty were the only ones not writhing in anguish from the attack. "Emma, you have to stop this!" the professor shouted, trying to find her in the room. "You must know you can't win!"

A throne suddenly appeared in the middle of the room as the White Queen uncloaked it from their vision. "Oh, really? I've already won. The only thing that didn't happen was my men weren't quick enough to rid me of you." She sighed. "I suppose what they say is true; if you want something done right, do it yourself."

Kitty, who in her intangible state was hard to get a mind lock on and was therefore immune to a lot of telepathic attacks, faced off against the woman angrily. "Look here, you!"

"No!" Jean stood between Kitty and Emma, eyes blazing in fury. "This is my fight. Frost you've seduced my boyfriend, tried to break up Kitty's relationship, kidnapped our friends and made them fight against us!"

Emma looked bored. "Get to the point!"

A decorative spear from off the wall flew towards her, the blade buried into the fabric of the throne inches away from her head. "It means you're dead!"

The White Queen attacked her psychically, putting Jean immediately on defense as the older telepath had an automatic upper hand. The redhead seemed to gain momentum after a while, but the blonde sat lazily on her chair. By the sweat appearing on the sides of her face, it was obvious to the onlookers who was winning.

Emma sighed. "Are you done yet? I really a tiring of this attempt of yours."

"You know, you may be a better telepath than I am right now, but I have something you don't!" Jean forced out from gritted teeth.

"Oh? And what might that be?"

In answer, Jean picked her up telekinetically and threw her against the wall, pining her like a shrimp on a toothpick. "That."

Emma struggled but nothing was going to let Jean let go. She, along with Kitty who wanted at least one good hit in, approached her, smirking. "Now, let's see what I'm going to do to you…"

The blonde eyed them warily as Kitty asked, "Can I phase her halfway into the wall and leave her there?"

"No, that's much too good for her," Jean shook her head, then put her face close to the White Queen's. "You know how they say not to mess with fiery redheads? Well, you shouldn't steal their boyfriends either. Especially when they can rip your head off without moving a muscle."

Everyone else was recovering from the psychic bolts and were now able to move, yet not without a killer migraine. As Jean continued to ponder exactly what her prey's fate should be, Kitty felt cool, sharp metal against her neck. "Don't move," the wielder told her. "Don't anyone move or the girl gets it."

No one moved, though not for fear of their friend's life. It was more from the shock of utter stupidity on the man's part. "Shaw, you idiot!" Emma screamed.

Kitty phased through the man's grip, then turned to face him. "Hi, I'm Shadowcat." Her right fist connected hard to his face, sending him sprawling back as Xavier then stopped him with his own mental control.

"Good job, Half-pint," Logan told her, the pain in his head beginning to fade.

"What do you think her punishment should be?" Jean asked, getting more pleasure from this than she probably should have.

"Not up to us, Red. Chuck's calling the authorities."

She whirled on him in disgust. "Authorities? She's a telepath!"

"I do believe that Nick Fury and his SHIELD representatives are more than capable of handling one telepath," Xavier explained. "I have given him specific instructions to have his men wear telepathic scramblers within ten miles of the the Academy."

Storm and Rogue approached the group next. "Jean, Kitty, we're going to need your help getting people on the jet."

Rogue stripped her gloves, then put a hand on the covered part of Frost's shoulder, barely millimeters away from the bare skin. "Hello, White Queen. I'm Rogue and I'll be guarding you today. So don't try any of your crap, k?"

As Kitty walked back to the group still recovering in the doorway, she wondered aloud, "Where's Wing?"

Lance seemed to get better immediately, a sadistic smile crossing his face. "I'll go find him."

"Actually, I think I'd better do that, Rocky," Wolverine grumbled, then went off trailing the boy's scent.

He seemed rather disappointed in missing the chance to kick the other mutant's ass, but cheered up when Kitty wrapped her arms around him. His arm rested comfortably across her shoulders as he placed a loving kiss on her head. "Hey, uh, Professor, if you want, we could probably take some people back with us. We have extra seats."

Blob snorted. "Yeah, because you're in the bathroom throwing up the whole time."

Avalanche glared at his teammate as Xavier nodded. "That would be very helpful, Lance. Thank you."

Kitty, Amara and Bobby joined the boys on their jet, which was white and even the expensive inside was mostly made of chrome. Gold, and other metal. Kitty sat back by the bathroom, ready to consol her boyfriend after his vomiting fits.

While Pietro was preparing to take off, Bobby awoke to find himself on the plane, head resting comfortable in Amara's lap. "'Mara? What happened?" She explained everything to him, ending with Bobby's slow whistle. "Man. I'm sorry, guys. I just…wow." He snuggled closer into the princess's lap. "At least you didn't say, 'I told you so…'" he whispered as sleep overtook him once more. Amara smiled, but placed a finger to her lips to warn everyone else against saying anything, spare hand tenderly stroking the Iceman's brown hair.

A while later, Pietro landed the jet at the Xavier Institute. "Ok, all ashore that's going ashore, I gotta get this baby back before Magneto notices it's gone."

Lance ran out as soon as the hatch was down, getting on the ground and thanking it for being there. He was soon followed by Bobby helping a pale Amara on to the ground as well; while she felt sort of sick thanks to her power being related to Mother Earth, she was grateful that she didn't have such a violent reaction as he did.

The rest of the Brotherhood agreed to go with Pietro to return the plane and the white-haired mutant look relieved that at least his sister was coming before they filled up on the Institute's fuel and took off.

The four went inside, taking Bobby to the infirmary to see Mr. McCoy while Lance brushed his teeth with a spare toothbrush. When he felt he was sufficiently minty fresh, he joined her in the room. Kitty made room for him on her bed and he immediately kissed her.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue, Lance," she whispered against his lips before he captured them once more.

"I'd do anything for you, pretty Kitty," he told her, arms pressing her spandex-clad body to his. "I love you."

There was no need to respond with more than another kiss, gently easing his tongue into her mouth and vice versa, their affection and passion lingering even when they took ragged breaths.

Soon, Kitty was completely vertical on her bed, with Lance over her, busying her mouth with his own. Her hands tangled in his hair as he stroked her sides through the tight fabric of her uniform, causing chills to run down her spine. Neither of them heard the door open and didn't stop until Wolverine loudly cleared his throat and announced, "C'mon, Rockslide, I'll take you home. Looks like the two of us need to have a chat anyway."

Lance gulped and as he paled Kitty noticed he was still a little green. "I'll see you tomorrow," she promised with a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." The two met for a quick lip lock before Lance followed Wolverine downstairs, preparing himself for the worst.

After giving herself a moment to rest, Kitty joined the other members of the Institute downstairs in the med lab. Amara was stroking Bobby's hair as Mr. McCoy did a check for broken bones. Jean attempted to wrap a bandage around Scott's wound but he would stop her every few seconds to kiss her and tell her how much he loved her. She scolded him half-heartedly, but anyone could tell that she didn't mind in the least.

She noticed Rogue in the back with Jamie and walked over to the pair. "Hey, Jamie. How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok. I didn't hurt you, did I?" the young teenager looked scared at the prospect.

"No, honey, I'm fine," she assured him.

"Hey, I'll go get those comic books you want, ok?" Rogue told him. "Need anything else?"

He shook his head, wincing at the pain from the simple motion. Kitty gave him a kiss on the cheek, while Rogue settled for one on his shoulder to keep from hurting him more. The two roommates went upstairs together, Kitty vying for a shower before quietly asking, "How are they really?"

Rogue shrugged. "Some are hurt worse than others. No more than a few broken bones at worse, Mr. McCoy said. That's not countin' the headaches, course. The professor's mostly worried about the mental and emotional aspects of what happened, so we're gonna hafta keen an eye on that."

Kitty nodded, feeling dirty just thinking about it. "They're strong. They should be fine."

"They shouldn't have to worry about whether or not they'll be fine!" the Southerner shouted angrily. "It doesn't matter that we got them home safe and sound; the fact that they had to go through that. Most of them are just kids." She wiped angry tears from her eyes as Kitty reached over and squeezed her other hand.

"We're the X-men, Rogue. Did you really expect it to be easy?"

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A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I had to wait to buy a new computer. A new semester has just started at school, and the teachers have decided to lay on the work, plus the PSATs were this week. Other than that, I really have no excuse. 

There's going to be a short prologue that's going to be put up in a few days, but this fic is coming to an end. I hope you liked watching Emma get her butt kicked as much as I enjoyed writing it!

This wasn't betaed because Laine and I just keep missing each other online and I've waited long enough to get this out. I'm still getting used to my new keyboard, so please be kind about any typos or grammatical errors.

I also run an X-men: Evolution forum called Growing Pains. Please check it out if you have a chance by going to the homepage on my profile or rosealchemist dot proboards26 dot com.

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.

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Review Responses: 

Rogue14: Yes, all the ass-kick action in this one, as well as some JOTT and Lancitty. Hope you enjoyed.

Doza: Yes, well, I like writing sappyness, especially in a romance fic. I actually didn't put her Hellions in this fic, since I didn't think it would be as fun and Wing is supposed to be her only pupil.

Sofie: I tend to write long, it's a habit that I'm getting into. Lance and Kitty are back together! Yay!

Jacx: I put some JOTT in this chapter because I love them too.

Lifeofla-silverwolf: Emma's always pulling something. That's why we hate her. I put the Brotherhood in just because I love them too and Lance wouldn't let Kitty run into danger alone. Well, he might, but he'd complain about it the whole time until everyone else got sick of him.

Starrydreamz: I'm glad you liked it so much. Thank you for reading!

Iamhollywood: No worries, I've done that too. I like writing the fluffy chapter and I love it when people enjoy reading them.

XGAGGAGRLFORLANCEX: Everyone loves Lance…except for maybe Scott. I'm happy you liked it, thank you so much for reviewing.

DOJ: Well, of course Grayson's Garage was after my dear Dick. It's an obsession. I'm thinking about entering a twelve-step program.

Musagirl15: Thank you! And thank you again for reading and reviewing.


	15. Close Enough

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution, any of its characters, Emma Frost or Wing. They are all property of Marvel.

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Kitty got up and got ready for school the next morning despite the professor explaining that she could stay home with everyone else. Politely declining, she reminded him that she'd already missed enough school and it would look strange if at least one member of the Institute wasn't there. She promised to pick up everyone's homework for them and just spent extra time in the bathroom concealing the dark bags under her eyes. 

Of course, the real reason she wanted to go to school was so that she could see Lance. That is, if he hadn't been shishkabobed by Logan the night before. When she'd asked him about it over breakfast, the man just grunted into his coffee, which, knowing Logan, could mean anything.

The first three classes dragged along with business as usual, as well as review sheets and studying for the upcoming exams. She took the usual notes and raised her hand enough to make her teachers think she was paying attention. One of the best things about being a genius was that it generally wasn't necessary to know what the teacher was talking about to answer them.

It was a pain to stop herself from phasing towards the Health room after the bell rang at the end of third period. He was sitting there in his desk as always, shaggy brown hair falling into his eyes in a way she could only deem as irresistibly cute.

"Hey, you," she greeted him, nuzzling his neck.

He looked up, planting a loving kiss on her lips. "Morning."

"Glad to see you're, like, all in one piece," Kitty smiled, sliding into her own desk. "What did Mr. Logan want to talk to you about anyway?"

"The usual. If I hurt you, I'll have to deal with him. If I cheat on you, I'll have to deal with him. If I knock you up, not even God will be able to save me."

She giggled as the late bell rang. "Good morning, everyone," their teacher greeted them. "I hope you all remember that your projects are due soon. For those of you who are slackers, I'm giving you the entire class period to work on it. As a bit of fun for those who aren't buried in work, I thought it would be fun to have mock weddings for those who want it. Anyone interested?" She sighed as not a single person raised their hand. "You'll get extra credit on the project." Half of the class was now interested.

Kitty and Lance polished off their work, attempting to sneak kisses in whenever Ms. Smith wasn't looking. She had been one of the people who had volunteered, and Jessica handed her the fake bouquet as Lance humored her and stood at the 'alter.'

A CD played the wedding march as Kitty walked down the main aisle of desks from the door to the front of the classroom. She stood with her boyfriend and grinned. "Dearly beloveds we are gathered here today to join Lance Alvers and Kitty Pryde in holy matrimony. If anyone should object, speak now or forever hold your piece," the instructor recited from memory. Of course, almost everyone else was working, so it wasn't entirely necessary, but it added a bit to the fun.

"Ok, then. Lance Alvers, do you take Kitty Pryde to be your wife, to have and to hold, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, till death do you part?"

Lance squeezed Kitty's hand. "I do." To her, he mouthed 'I love you.'

"Great. Kitty, do you take Lance to be your husband, to have and to hold, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, till death do you part?"

"I do," she grinned. 'I love you too,' she mouthed back.

Ms. Smith handed them two plastic rings that probably came from a vending machine, or a cracker jacks box. Regardless, the two slipped them on before facing their teacher again. "By the power vested in me as your health teacher, I now pronounce you mock husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

While most couples usually gave a pop kiss or a peck on the cheek, Lance bent her backwards, locking lips as the rest of the class clapped or wolf-whistled. He picked her up bridal style and carried her back down the aisle as Ms. Smith called, "This doesn't mean you can have a mock honeymoon!"

Kitty laughed and put her arms around Lance's neck as he asked, "And they all lived happily ever after?"

Both of them knew that it wasn't the case, as they were enemies and mutants and everything was going to continue to be against them. Still, she grinned and kissed him again. "Close enough."

The End.

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A/N: The finale of my first X-men: Evolution fic. I actually guessed that it would be between fifteen and twenty chapters and I was right. Yay. 

I will continue writing Lancitty fics, as they are still my favorite Evo couple. But I'm going to wait a while before I put a new one up. There's another fic that I want to work on and it will have Lancitty in it, though they aren't the main couple. I have two major Lancitty ideas that I'll post, but I don't want to get burned out and then not want to update and end up disappointing everyone.

I hope everyone enjoyed this fic and I thank everyone who read and reviewed. Especially the few who have stuck with me from the very beginning (I love you DOJ!).

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.


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